


What could have been

by Glenn81



Category: The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: F/M, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-18
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 04:14:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 342,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1804936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glenn81/pseuds/Glenn81
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Penny meets Leonard in a bar before she moves in with him. Things happen. This story is also posted on FanFiction by me under a different username. Rated M for a reason, mature content. Please R&R</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody. I usually write fanfiction for another show but I re-watched some older episodes of TBBT a few days ago and this idea has spun around in my head for a while now.
> 
> This is my very first TBBT story, so be nice :) Also, Leonard is a bit OOC, I wrote him with more confidence but the reason for that is explained in the story.
> 
> Also, I'm German so if you find mistakes don't laugh at them ;)
> 
> This is a repost of this story, since it got deleted by the admins claiming I copied some song lyrics that no one could tell me what they actually were. So even if you already red it, please review :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended
> 
> Enjoy :)

It was shortly after 1 am when Penny walked into the bar she found while walking aimlessly around Pasadena. It had been a very rough day. After years of only suspecting it, she finally had confirmation that her as-of-today ex-boyfriend has been cheating on her, not only once but numerous times over the years. She wondered why she had stayed with him for so long. Probably puppy love and a fear of living alone.

The light inside the bar was dim. Since it was a weekday, only very few people were there. Two guys were sitting at a table, drinking beer while conversing in low tones. Their demeanor told her that they were two guys probably fresh off their shift from whatever job they had, sitting back and having a tired but content look on their faces. The only other patron was sitting at the bar itself, knocking back a beer.

He looked peculiar, completely out of place in an establishment like this. Short and bespectacled, with dark and curly hair, wearing nondescript brown pants and a beige hoody. She sat down two bar stools to the right of him and put her travel case and purse on the floor in front of her.

"What will it be, young lady?" the barkeeper asked her after she sat down.

She was about to order her a stiff drink but before she could utter the words, she tried to remember if she had enough money for it. She took out her purse and checked the content, her face contorting when she saw how little money was in there.

"Just water please." she said and sighed. She really would have loved something strong.

"Give her a shot of vodka, Harry." said a voice. She realized it was the guy with the glasses to the left of her.

"It's okay." she said. "I can't really afford one right now."

"Put it on my tab." came the reply.

She frowned and wondered what his goal was. Did he see her as an easy girl, hoping for a score tonight? She really wasn't in the mood. "Sorry pal, I'm not looking for a hookup."

"Don't worry, I'm not planning on hitting on you." he said. "But you look like you need something stiff."

That was unexpected. And sadly true. "Okay, thanks." she said and the barkeep poured her a shot of vodka which she knocked back immediately, savoring the burning sensation in her throat and the warmth spreading through her body. She took another look at the guy. He was a far cry from the guys she usual considered hanging out with but maybe, after numerous failed partnerships with big and muscular types, a change was in order. Nothing wrong with knowing someone smaller.

"Thanks for that, I really needed that." she said and scooted over to the stool next to him.

"You're welcome. But I think it's not enough. Give her another one. And one for me as well." he said, directing the second sentence to the barkeep, who complied and poured them each a shot of vodka.

"I'm Penny, by the way." she said and lifted her glass.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Leonard." he replied and mirrored her stance. They clinked their glasses and knocked back their shots. Leonard wasn't used to hard stuff so he had trouble getting his breathing under control but as soon as the burning in the throat subsided, he too enjoyed the warmth of the new fluid in his body.

_'Unusual name.'_ Penny thought. _'But he's kinda cute.'_

Her eyes went wide when she realized what just went through her head. Before she could contemplate what it could mean, they were interrupted by the barkeep who poured them another shot each.

"Why are you here?" she asked and lifted her glass again.

"My roommate is driving me crazy. And I mean it, really crazy. I knew after a few days of living with him that he's nuts but sometimes I contemplate to go into his bedroom at night and smother him with a pillow."

"Ah, poor sweetie." she said and ran her hand up and down his arm, a move that brought his head up and his eyes boring into hers. _'What am I doing?'_ she thought to herself. _'Aw, those are cute eyes.'_

"So, what brings you here at this hour?" Leonard asked, lifting his glass and mirroring her stance like before. She was grateful for him interrupting her thoughts but didn't know if she should tell him her pathetic story but the alcohol in her system and his sympathetic face and tone made it impossible to resist.

"I had to break up with my boyfriend after finding out he cheated on me for years and have now moved out. Now I need to find a new place."

"I would offer you to sleep on my couch but that would surely push Sheldon over the edge." Leonard said, clinked her glass and both knocked back their shot.

"Who is Sheldon?"

"My roommate. The genius slash crazy man I live with."

"He's a genius?"

"Yeah. With all the baggage that tends to come with them."

"Like what?"

"Strict adherence to a daily routine with almost no exceptions. Emotionally he's a child. And of course a narcissist. But when you go to college when you're only 11 years old, it's probably not that strange. But it's really frustrating and enraging if he lords it over you. 'Leonard you only have an IQ of 173 compared to my 187, so I'm infinitely smarter than you. I got my first PhD when I was sixteen. You only did yours when you were twenty-four.'" Leonard said using air quotes. "Those are the days I really want to put his head through a wall. That's why I'm here today. It was either sitting here getting plastered or being arrested for assault on a crazy man. Although I think any jury would acquit me if they spend a day with him."

"Wait, back up a second? You're a doctor with an IQ of 173?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know, I just... wow!"

"What do you do for a living?"

"I work at Caltech. And you?"

"I want to be an actress. But I just got a job as waitress at the Cheesecake factory. That will hopefully be enough for my acting classes and new apartment that I still have to find."

"Listen Penny, you want to sit at a table?"

"Sure. Barkeep, a bottle of tequila please, with enough lime wedges and salt." Penny said and went to a table.

"You really want to get hammered, don't you?" Leonard snickered and followed her.

"You betcha." They sat down across each other at a table close to a window on the street side. Penny put her purse on the chair next to her and turned her back slightly to the window, putting one leg on the other chair. The barkeeper brought the tray with two glasses, a bottle of tequila, a bowl of lime wedges and saltshaker and put it on the table. She looked at her drinking buddy for the night and saw apprehension in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Nothing. It's just... I never drank tequila before. How does it work?"

"Easy. You put some salt on the back of your hand, like this." Penny said and put action to her words, sprinkling some salt on the back of her hand after filling their glasses with the amber liquid. She licked it off and took the tequila shot before biting and sucking on the lime. Leonard did the same and after downing his first he couldn't suppress a cough.

"Wow, that's disgusting." he stated after spitting out the lime wedge.

"Yeah. Have another one."

"Hit me."

They repeated the process three times in short order, downing half of the bottle between them. Combined with the vodka shots from earlier, Penny started to feel very tipsy. Leonard was even worse off, having had a few beers before she came in. That's when she slipped off her left shoe and started running her foot up and down his left leg. She knew he had noticed because he became very quiet and his brown eyes bored into hers, erupting goose bombs on her skin and butterflies in her stomach.

As she poured their respective fourth shots, all the while continuing her actions with her leg, she heard a loud voice behind her, one that was unfortunately very painful to hear.

"There you are! What do you think you're doing?"

Penny turned around and focused her inebriated mind to the last person she wanted to see now.

"Kurt. What are you doing here?" Penny asked her ex, who was clearly drunk as well, even more than her.

"I'm here to bring you back. You completely overreacted."

"Seriously?" Penny yelled. "In the four years we've been together you cheated on me with countless other women and when I even catch you with one of them in our bed, I should just ignore it?"

"Come on baby, you know I can give it to you."

"Ugh, you're a chauvinistic neanderthal. Those steroids must have fried your brain. Read my lips if you can't hear my voice. I AM NOT COMING BACK TO YOU! And now leave me alone."

"This is ridic... redic..." Kurt slurred, making Leonard laugh when he saw his difficulty spelling.

"The word you are looking for is 'ridiculous'." Leonard interjected.

"Shut up little man or I will do it for you." Kurt yelled, shaking his fist at Leonard. "This is crazy. Lets go home and we can talk it out."

"The hell I will. And don't threaten him. I've known for less than an hour and he's already more man than you." Penny yelled.

"This little dwarf? I could eat him for breakfast!"

"No, you really couldn't." Leonard said, strangely calm despite being the recipient of threats of bodily harm.

Kurt grabbed the almost empty tequila bottle and smashed it on the table, holding the upper half at the bottleneck and the sharp end at Leonard.

"Still thinking that dwarf?"

"Yes, cause I have friends."

Before Kurt could comprehend what Leonard had said, a strong hand grabbed his wrist and squeezed it, making him cry out and drop the bottle piece. Penny looked up and saw a huge man holding her ex. Although Kurt was tall and muscular, he was small compared to the other guy.

"I think that's enough for now, Mister. It's time for you to leave." the man said with an impossibly deep voice. Penny's eyes went wide when she really looked at him. He was at least seven feet tall, maybe even more, and had a lot more body mass than Kurt. "Are you okay, Doctor Hofstadter?"

"Yeah, thanks Frank. And I told you, out of the classroom it's Leonard."

"Right. Leonard. It's hard, I have too much respect for you." Frank said before turning his attention back to the man he was holding fast. "And you sir, it's time for you to leave."

"NO!" Kurt screamed and tried to get out of Frank's grip, knocking down chairs and a table in his attempt.

"Okay, that's enough." a strong but exasperated voice cut into the commotion. "You are under arrest for assault and damaging private property."

Penny noticed the two men who she had seen sitting at the table at the far end when she came in had gotten up. One flashed his badge to Kurt and the bouncer, who still held her ex down easily despite his attempts to get free, while the other was talking on his cell phone. Apparently he had called some of his colleagues because not two minutes later a squad car pulled up and after a short conversation, Kurt was led away in cuffs, still cursing and yelling.

"Don't worry Miss." one of the off duty cops said, "He'll spend the night in the drunk tank."

"Thank you." Penny said sincerely, her body still shaking from all the adrenalin coursing through her veins.

The two cops paid their bills and left the bar soon after. Harry, the barkeeper, came round the bar and helped his bouncer clean up the mess Kurt had left. They placed the table and chairs back where they belong minus the one Kurt had broken a leg off during his struggle.

"Do you need anything else? It's almost closing time." he asked them.

"No, thanks Harry, we're good. Let me get my wallet."

"Miss... Penny, was it?" Harry asked and Penny nodded. "Check this out. Okay, that's six beers at 1.80 dollars each plus five shots of vodka at 2.70 dollars each plus the bottle of tequila at 26.50 dollars, that comes to..."

"50 dollars and 80 cents." Leonard finished and fished a note from his wallet. "Keep the change."

"I love this guy. He can be drunk as a sailor and still do math in his head faster than I could ever do." Harry said and laughed before shaking Leonard's hand. "Always a pleasure."

"Bye Harry." Leonard said and then shook the bouncer's hand. "Frank, I see you on Friday. Remember, this week I'm using powerful magnets in my lecture demonstration, so no earrings."

"I'll remember. Goodbye Leonard."

* * *

 

Penny and Leonard stepped out of the bar into the warm Pasadena night with her bag around her left shoulder. She held on to his arm for fear of falling down due to her alcohol level. At least that's what she told herself.

"That huge bouncer. Is he really a student of yours?" Penny asked, having a difficult time to accept this.

"Yeah. He's taking the applied physics class that I teach. He's pretty smart."

"Wow. I would have thought someone like that is a wrestler or boxer or something."

"If you judge people only by their looks you miss a lot. You need to take the time to learn about the person inside that body or you will never have a happy life, only shallow relationships. And after a few years that will go too because we all get older. And once the people who only run on their popularity lose their looks, what have they left?"

As Leonard finished his short speech and started rummaging in his pockets, Penny thought about what she just heard. She knew he didn't meant it like that but to her it sounded almost as if he tried to get her to look past his own small stature at the person beneath the skin.

"I'm calling a cab. Where do you want me to drop you off?" Leonard asked and fished out his cellphone, snapping Penny out of her reverie.

"Uh, I don't know. I actually don't have a place to stay. I thought of going to one of my friends but I don't really want to disturb any of them right now."

Leonard had his phone in his hand but only looked at her instead of dialing. He looked into her eyes again and after a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity to Penny, started to pull her down the street.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"There's a motel two blocks down."

"So much for not wanting to hit on me." Penny grinned.

"What?" he said, looking at her with a confused look. "Oh, stop. I'm not planning anything." he continued and pulled her into the motel.

"Do you have a spare room for the night?" Leonard asked the clerk, an older and plump female. "I'd like to pay up front, with added breakfast in the morning."

"Certainly." the clerk said and after typing in some information on her computer she printed out the bill and handed it to Leonard who paid and received the key in return. He led them to the room the clerk assigned to them. Inside, she saw a big bed, clearly made for two people, an en suite bathroom and a TV set. It also had a small closet with a full length mirror on one of its doors but Penny didn't need it for the meager stuff she had with her.

"Okay, you're set." Leonard said.

"Wait, why are you doing this? You don't even know me."

"I don't know. You're the first beautiful girl I met who didn't treat me like the nerd I am or tried to use me for her own gains. Also, I'm drunk. If I weren't, I wouldn't even be able to look you in the eye."

"You think I'm beautiful?"

"Well, duh. That's why I couldn't believe it when you said your ex had cheated on you. That someone would be that crazy."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?" he asked her, with an incredulous look on his face. "Come over here."

Penny went over to Leonard who was standing next to the mirror. He put his hands on her hips and placed her directly in front of it, leaning his head to his side to look at her in the mirror.

"Look at yourself. What do you see?" he asked her, his hands still on her hip.

"I see me. And your head floating next to mine." she answered with a giggle. She was massively aware that his hands had not left her hips and it felt good.

"Very funny. You know what I see?"

"What?"

"I see a lovely woman with a gorgeous face and beautiful hair. When she smiles a genuine smile, it lights up the room she's in." He turned her ninety degrees to the right. "And here. You have very nice legs in those shorts and your curves are breathtaking. That's why I can't believe your ex or anyone for that matter would cheat on you. If you were my girlfriend, your physical attributes alone would make me do anything to keep you. I don't know you very well but from what I learned about you today is that you seem to be a caring and funny woman. So you're not just a pretty package, the gift inside is also nothing to scoff at."

After having finished his speech he took her hands from her hips, a loss of contact Penny immediately missed, and turned towards the door. He pulled out his phone again, wanting to get a cab to get home finally. He had to go to work in the morning and Sheldon to take with him.

"Okay, you're all set for the night and you get breakfast in the morning too. I need to head home, I have to go to work in the morning." he stated and turned to leave.

Penny still looked at herself in the mirror, thinking about the description of her Leonard gave. It was one of the most beautiful things she ever heard. Kurt had never said something like that. He told her numerous times that she was hot but a lot of guys had told her that over the years since high school. But beautiful? A smile to light up a room? No one had ever said this before. In this instance, Penny made a decision. She might be regretting it later but right now she didn't care. Not that the alcohol in her body was helping.

"Leonard, wait." she said and turned towards him as he turned around to face her.

"What?"

Instead of answering, she ran over to him and threw his arms around his neck. She pressed her lips to his and shoved her tongue into his mouth, playing with his tongue which still wasn't moving. She knew deep down that his inactivity was caused more by the shock of her actions than any possible rejection and before she could ponder if she might have misjudged him, he put his arms around her waist to hold her tight to him and his own tongue became active, exploring her mouth the same way hers did his.

"Wait." Leonard said after separating their lips. "I thought you didn't look for a hookup."

"I know. But please" she pleaded. "Let us have this one night."

* * *

 

Instead of answering, he resumed kissing her. Not wanting to waste a second for fear of any doubt setting in, she shoved Leonard's hoodie off him and unbuttoned his pants, letting it fall to the floor. She did the same with her own lower body apparel, quickly removing her own shorts and panties in one swift motion before she turned both of them around, pulled his shirt off and pushed him onto the bed.

When he was prone, she quickly pulled his shorts off, leaving him lying naked in the bed and her standing in front of it, with her shirt and bra the only garments left on her. She bent down and crawled towards him, her position and the cut of her shirt revealing a tremendous amount of cleavage. Her feline appearance, combined with the look of pure lust and want wasn't lost on Leonard who felt his manhood stiffen and growing fast as this goddess got closer and closer to him. She placed herself on his abdomen, kissing him again. As far as Leonard was concerned, he died and went to heaven. Then a thought hit him that made him hesitate.

"Penny." he panted between kisses. "Wait. I don't have any..."

"Pill." was her only reply, correctly predicting his rather valid objection.

He didn't say anything else and just continued to kiss her. After a couple of minutes, Penny sat up and slowly removed her shirt and bra, smiling at Leonard's widening eyes as he took in the view on top of him. His hands went up her sides and on her breasts, caressing them and occasionally flicking his fingers over her hard nipples, making her gasp in pleasure. He sat up and wrapped his left arm around her waist, using his right hand to continue to massage her right breast while his mouth closed around her left nipple, sucking and occasionally biting it softly and letting his tongue circling her areola, making Penny moan every time he did it.

Finally she couldn't take it anymore. She pushed him down again, lifted herself up and sat down on his erection, eliciting a loud moan from both of them as the friction caused little explosions of pleasure in both their brains. After a few seconds of just enjoying the physical contact, she started moving, first in a slow forward-backward motion with her hands on his chest. After several minutes of re-enacting her horseback riding lessons in a very enjoyable way, she changed the tempo and direction, gyrating her hips in a rotating move that made Leonard moan even louder and her eyes roll back into her skull.

Alternating between her gyrating and straight movement, she felt her walls clenching and before she knew it, she was climaxing loudly and screaming his name, before collapsing on his chest. He pressed his mouth hard on hers, both fighting for dominance with their tongues. He still was inside her and luckily for her, he wasn't finished yet. Happy that he had more stamina than she anticipated, she sat up again, turned around on him and placed her feet on both sides of his legs and started to bounce up and down hard, the friction and especially him hitting her g-spot every time she was down again causing her to constantly moan his name. She kept this up for almost ten minutes, with his hands wandering between her breasts and hips before she realized that his breathing had changed which let her know that he was about to climax as well.

Leonard wanted her to climax again, this time with him so he took one hand off her hips, grabbed around her put his it between her legs, rubbing her in synch with her movements. It had the desired effect as he felt Penny clench around him again and her movements becoming less smooth. Not thirty seconds later she screamed his name again, collapsing onto his chest once more. The feeling of her orgasm pulled him over the edge as well and he released with a loud groan. They lay on the bed, panting and experiencing the occasional aftershock of their torrid lovemaking. Instead of parting, Leonard just pulled the comforter over them and held her tight.

* * *

 

Penny was a tad exhausted. She had had casual sex before but this had felt different the whole time. And although she had been on top the entire time it seemed like he had been in control. She couldn't explain it. Still lying on top of him with her back to him she bent her head to the side and turned it, making him turn his head towards her. She looked into his eyes and could only smile at him.

"Thank you. That was amazing." she said and kissed him.

"You were amazing." Leonard stated and kissed her back.

They continued kissing for what seemed like half an hour. That's when Penny realized why this felt different. You don't usually make out like this when having casual sex with a guy you only met that night. Normally, when that happened, they both went to sleep or one of them went home. None had ever held her tight and kissed her after the sex, not even Kurt.

It was then when she felt him getting hard again. She opened her eyes and saw the spark in his, something that looked like something between a plea and an order. She smiled and nodded, desperately wanting this night to go on like this. He let her go for a second and placed himself on top of her. She opened her legs wide, extending the most wordless but eloquent invitation she could muster at this point as his lips were still fused to hers.

His hands were at the side of her head, holding him up when he entered her again, her insides again welcoming his manhood. Leonard breathed a sigh of both relief and pleasure. He didn't have much experience with women but not once had it ever felt as great as this. Not only had she initiated it, she hadn't demanded him to leave after it was over and had even cuddled with him. And now, after his unspoken question, she was ready and willing for round two on his terms.

He made good use of his control, alternating the speed between slow and fast to prolong it but never stopping. He pulled her legs upward so settle on his shoulders, the change in angle sending more shocks of pleasure through both of them. In that position, it didn't take long for Penny to climax again twice before Leonard did as well.

Again their bodies were fused together, neither wanting the physical contact to end and kissed for what seemed to be hours but were sadly only minutes. Then, to Penny's almost complete shock, Leonard extricated himself from her arms and stood up.

"Where are you going? Are you leaving now?" she almost whined to her own surprise.

"Yes. To the bathroom. We should shower before going to sleep. And since I still need to get to work in the morning, I need to prevent a hangover." He said and moved towards the bathroom. "Care to join me? It saves time."

"It saves time? You sure you don't just want to seduce me for shower sex?" Penny grinned.

"As much as I would love to do that, I'm still just a man. And we men are like muskets. It takes a while to reload. So, just shower for now."

Penny laughed at the analogy and got up. She took some of her own shower gel from her travel case and they spent a good thirty minutes under the spray of water, washing each others backs. And although Leonard had been right in his assessment that he couldn't do it again right away, the same wasn't true for her. And after a few subtle hints, the shower ended with him pressed onto her back and her left arm around his neck, yelling his name again after his fingers did magic between her legs but that was after she had pushed him down on his knees and her pelvis into his face where he had proceeded to bring her over the edge three times only with his tongue.

At that point, she realized, they both appeared to be sober again as if they had sweated out all the alcohol they consumed. After they had dried themselves off, Leonard took a glass and and filled it up with water from the tap before downing it in three big swigs. He continued the process twice under Penny's curious gaze.

"Are you that thirsty?" she asked.

"No. But if you don't want a hangover in the morning, you need to get fluids into your body to dilute the alcohol. Each time you go to the bathroom you lose fluids but the alcohol remains inside your system until the liver has broken it down. That's what's causing the headaches. A lack of minerals and fluids." He finished his short speech and handed her the glass. Figuring that it couldn't hurt to try, she did the same, downing three glasses of water.

Before heading out, Penny grabbed two toothbrushes from her travel case, a used one for herself and a new one still in its original package which she gave to Leonard. She again was mesmerized by the situation. She had been with Kurt for four years and they had never brushed their teeth together. The whole thing seemed terribly domestic and for a second it freaked her out that she felt so comfortable.

Her reverie was interrupted by Leonard spitting and rinsing his mouth. She went out with him and her gaze fell to his clothing that was scattered around the room. Not wanting to risk him leaving, she grabbed his hand and let him to the bed, pulling him down with her and covering them with the comforter.

She lay down on her side and felt Leonard doing the same, molding himself to her back and putting his right arm around her waist. She smiled contently and interlocked her fingers with his before her eyes fell shut and she drifted off into a satisfied sleep.

* * *

 

Penny woke up with a start when she felt movement behind her. In her sleepy condition she realized Leonard had gotten up. It was still dark out. Why was he getting up. Was he sneaking out? She was about to turn around and call out that she didn't want him to leave yet and for him to come back to bed when she heard the toilet flush and realized the reason for his activity.

She smiled to herself when she felt him get back to bed and again pressing himself into her back and putting her arm where it had been the entire time they had been lying here. She soon fell asleep again.

Not thirty minutes later, she woke up again, this time it was her own body craving for her to hurry to the bathroom. She quickly obliged and sat on the toilet for quite a while, wondering where she could have stowed all those fluids. After flushing she went back to bed, pressing herself against Leonard again. She realized they were still naked when she felt him getting hard again and wondered if he was awake and attempting to go to round three.

But his slow and regular breathing told her that he was still fast asleep. She wracked her brain to remember some of the things she learned in biology. Right, males had several erections during night, the last one colloquially known as early-morning hard-on or morning wood. She tried to ignore it and go back to sleep but their position brought his growing manhood in contact with the one spot on her body that made it impossible to ignore.

And suddenly her own body betrayed her when she realized that she was pushing her butt against his abdomen so his manhood rubbed over her folds. She felt herself getting wet, cursing her horniness. So far, she had had eight orgasms that night. How could she want more? She heard Leonard inhale sharply and although he was still asleep, his body reacted to her ministrations by pushing his hips forward which in turn got Penny even more aroused.

They repeated this process a few times until Penny couldn't suppress a loud moan anymore. Unbeknownst to Penny, Leonard had been awake for a several minutes now, enjoying the fact that Penny got aroused by rubbing against him while at the same time he pretended to be asleep as to not scare her off. But when he heard her moan, he couldn't control himself anymore.

Putting the hand he had wrapped around her waist so far further down he started rubbing her between her legs while simultaneously pressing kisses on her neck elicited a surprised yelp from Penny at the sudden change in pace that quickly turned into another loud moan as she pushed her hips against his hand. Still pressed against her back, Leonard put both his arms in front of Penny and angled them up to her shoulder, holding her tight to him as he rolled them onto her stomach, with him on top of her.

Penny, sensing what his intention was, grabbed below her body between her legs and guided his erection to her opening and when Leonard started to push forwards rhythmically and hit that one sweet spot again and again and again, her eyes rolled back into her head and her world went white with pleasure.

* * *

 

Leonard was awakened by the vibrations of his phone on the night stand. He looked at it and realized it was his 7:30 am alarm. As much as he wanted to stay in this motel bed molded against the naked body of this absolutely gorgeous woman, he knew that he needed to get up so he could drive home, pick up Sheldon and get to work.

He slowly extricated himself from Penny to not wake her and went into the bathroom. After relieving himself, he washed his face and upper body and used the toothbrush Penny gave him to brush his teeth. He looked in the mirror and saw bite marks on his chest and neck, a testament to what a tiger Penny was in bed. Going back into the main room, he collected his rumples clothes from the floor and got dressed. He wasn't as quite as he thought he was when he heard her voice.

"Leonard?" Penny asked, still sleepy and unable to properly open her eyes.

"Shhh. Go back to sleep."

"Why are you leaving?"

"I have to go pick up my roommate and then to work. I want to stay here but I really can't."

"Okay. But before you leave, come here." she said and Leonard went over to her. He bent down to give her a goodbye kiss on the forehead but Penny wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down, pressing her lips to his and her tongue into his mouth. After thirty seconds she released him when air became a necessity but left her arms around his neck and took a few deep breaths.

"Thanks for an amazing night." she said and kissed him again.

"No, thank you." he said and kissed her one last time before reluctantly heading out.

* * *

 

Penny woke up with a start, momentarily confused by her surroundings before remembering the night before. One thing she noticed was the fact that she had no hangover, so apparently the remedy worked. She couldn't stop smiling. What she had intended to be a simple one-night stand had turned into a love fest that left her more sated than in a long time. Suddenly her face turned to shock. No wonder it had felt different than any other one-night stand she ever had. All the kissing in between, all the cuddling. They didn't just have sex. They had made love.

They had made love.

Penny was confused. She realized she might have to talk to Leonard about the night and what it might entail. She grabbed her phone to check her message and then it hit her. They hadn't swapped phone numbers. She didn't really have any means of contacting him, she only knew his name and that he worked at CalTech. Maybe she could visit him at some point. But what could she say? The night was great, lets do it again? Lets start a relationship? Did she want that after just getting out of a terrible one?

She got up to use the bathroom and when she collected her clothes, her eyes fell to the table in the room. On it was a tray with an empty cup, a thermos flask, a newspaper, a bag and a note. She took the note and read.

_Good morning beautiful. I took the liberty of getting you a thermos flask of coffee and some pastries so you don't need to wait on room service, not that this motel has a good one. Also, I got you a newspaper and circled the one ads, maybe it'll help you find a new apartment faster. Have a nice day. Leonard xoxo :)_

Penny's heart melted at the note. This was way more than anyone she dated had ever done before and he barely knew her. After she used the toilet and shower, she ate the two bear claws Leonard bought for her and drank the coffee and used the remaining time the room was booked for to circle a few apartments she liked and probably could afford.

* * *

 

As it turned out, the apartment search went better than expected. It took her only three hours to find a place, scout it and rent it. Now she stood inside her new apartment, unpacking the boxes of her belongings she had gotten out of storage. It had been a not so nice surprise to see that the elevator was broken but she thought it wasn't that high a price to pay for such a nice place. Also, taking the stairs daily could be beneficial in terms of keeping her fit.

She heard voices coming from the stairwell, it seemed her new neighbors were on their way up. She knew from the woman on he third floor that two males lived in 4A and were not gay. Maybe by using her feminine wiles she could convince them to let her use their shower, since hers was still broken and the repairman was scheduled the next day.

When she turned around after hearing one of them commenting on the fact that they had a new neighbor, her heart skipped a beat. Standing next to a tall, lanky guy in the hallway, eyes large with shock, was Leonard.

_'Holy crap on a cracker.'_ Penny thought. Her new living arrangements have become quite interesting indeed.

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

Penny couldn't take her eyes off Leonard. He had the same shocked expression that was surely apparent on her own face but didn't say anything. The awkward staring contest lasted only a few seconds before he lowered his head and looked at his feet.

 

 _'Man, he really can't look at me when sober.'_ she thought, remembering what he said last night. She decided to force the issue.

 

"Oh, hi." she said to them both.

 

"Hi." Leonard replied

 

"Hi." came from the other guy.

 

"So, are you two my new neighbors?"

 

"Yes, we live across the hall." Leonard said and mentally slapped himself. Of course they lived across the hall, there were no other apartments on this floor. Why does he always have to be so nervous in front of women?

 

"Nice to meet you, I'm Penny."

 

"I'm Leonard, this is Sheldon."

 

Penny was about to comment on the fact that she knew who they were, having had learned of Sheldon last night before really, really learning about Leonard in a very intimate way, when she saw the pleading look in Leonard's eyes that said something like 'Don't tell him about last night, I'll explain why later.'

 

"Well, welcome to the building." Leonard said, once again feeling very awkward.

 

"Thank you, maybe we can have coffee sometimes."  _'And hopefully repeat some of last night. Like tonight. Or tomorrow night. Or tonight AND tomorrow night. Oh Penny, get a grip.'_

 

"Great." Leonard stated.

 

"Great." Sheldon added, which made him look like a parakeet in Penny's eye right now.

 

"Great. Well, bye." Leonard blurted out again.

 

"Bye." Penny answered. _'Boy, he really is nervous. He shouldn't be, he was so amazing last night.'_ Penny thought and closed the door. She went back to her boxes and smiled to herself. Those two were really socially awkward and if she had met them for first time today, she would have probably just stereotyped them as the classic nerds with no experience with women.

 

But she had met Leonard. Granted, he had been somewhat inebriated but his behavior today was the direct opposite of last night. Back then he was drunk and tired but confident and assertive. She hoped that it was only make-believe for his roommate’s benefit because while shy and nervous Leonard was kind of cute, confident Leonard was downright hot. Suddenly her eyes went wide. What was she thinking? She knew him for less than a day and her thoughts were already filled with him. She needed to distract herself. Right, unpacking boxes. Her plans were interrupted though, when she heard a knock on her door. She opened it to find Leonard on her doorstep once again.

 

“Hi, again.” Leonard said.

 

“Hi.” she answered grinning.

 

“Anyway, um. We brought home Indian food." he stated and held up the take-out bag in his hand. "And, um. I know that moving can be stressful, and I find that when I’m undergoing stress, that good food and company can have a comforting effect. Also, curry is a natural laxative, and I don’t have to tell you that, uh, a clean colon is just one less thing to worry about. ”

 

“Leonard, I’m not expert here but I believe in the context of a luncheon invitation, you might want to skip the reference to bowel movements.” Sheldon said which made Penny grin even more.

 

"Oh, you’re inviting me over to eat?" she asked.

 

"Uh, yes."

 

"Oh, that’s so nice, I’d love to."

 

"Great."

 

"So, what do you guys do for fun around here?" she asked as she was passing them on her way into their apartment.

 

"Well, today we tried masturbating for money." Sheldon said which resulted in Leonard throwing him a look that told him how crazy he was to say just that.

 

Penny looked around in the guys apartment and was silently amazed. It really was a nerds place, two desks with laptops, several different gaming consoles plus a lot of video games. On the other side of the room was a whiteboard filled with some type of calculation which to her was nothing more than a bunch of lines.

 

“This looks like some serious stuff, Leonard, did you do this?” Penny asked incredulously.

 

"Actually that’s my work." Sheldon said and gave what was surely supposed to be smile.

 

"Wow."

 

"Yeah, well, it’s just some quantum mechanics, with a little string theory doodling around the edges. That part there, that’s just a joke, it’s a spoof of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation."

 

 _'Right, as if I understand anything of what you just said.'_ Penny thought _"S_ o you’re like, one of those beautiful mind genius guys."

 

"Yeah." Sheldon confirmed, although she knew that already from her talk last night with Leonard.

"This is really impressive."

 

"I have a board." Leonard stated from across the room, pointing at another whiteboard filled with calculations. "If you like boards, this is my board."

 

“Holy smokes.” Penny said, as the stuff on Leonard's board looked even more complicated.

 

“If by holy smokes you mean a derivative restatement of the kind of stuff you can find scribbled on the wall of any men's room at MIT, sure.” Sheldon interjected.

 

“What?” Leonard asked.

 

“Oh, come on. Who hasn’t seen this differential below “here I sit broken-hearted?””

 

“At least I didn’t have to invent twenty-six dimensions just to make the math come out.”

 

“I didn’t invent them, they’re there.”

 

“In what universe?”

 

“In all of them, that's the point.”

 

During the argument, Penny had sat down in the left side of the couch and was mesmerized by those two. They talked about math and other stuff as if it were the easiest thing in the world. She had an idea how to end the argument.

 

"Uh, do you guys mind if I start?"

 

Suddenly Sheldon had a very apprehensive look in his eyes. She was about to ask what's wrong when she saw Leonard turn his head.

 

“Um Penny, that's where I sit.” he said.

 

“So, sit next to me.” she replied and gave him an inviting smile.

 

“No, I sit there.”

 

“What's the difference?”

 

“What's the difference?” he repeated, as if it was absurd to have to explain it.

 

“Here we go.” Leonard mumbled exasperated and sat down in the armchair. In that moment, Penny could see the reason why he would sometimes go to a bar to get plastered. If that was normal behavior for Sheldon, than him acting up would be truly enervating.

 

“In the winter that seat is close enough to the radiator to remain warm, and yet not so close as to cause perspiration. In the summer it’s directly in the path of a cross breeze created by open windows there, and there. It faces the television at an angle that is neither direct, thus discouraging conversation, nor so far wide to create a parallax distortion, I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point. “

 

At that point, Penny zoned out. He had lost her at the word 'parallax'. She dimly remembered Leonard telling him to sit somewhere else, something Sheldon did very reluctantly and telling them about herself, from her upbringing in Nebraska, her dream of becoming an actress and her attempt to write a screenplay.

 

She told them about her past relationship with Kurt, and was quite pleased with herself that she could do without losing her composure, something she was sure Leonard and especially their escapade last night was a huge factor of.

 

She also learned something about Leonard from Sheldon. Not only that he was apparently lactose intolerant, so he couldn't eat any dairy products but also they were truly nerds, playing something called Klingon boggle. She knew what boggle was, but had no clue as to the Klingon variant.

 

“That reminds me, my shower is still broken and won't be fixed until tomorrow. Would it be too much to ask, if I could use yours?” Penny asked.

 

“Yes.” Sheldon answered, with no hint that he was kidding.

 

“No.” Leonard said at the same time.

 

“No?”

 

“No.”

 

Penny had to suppress a laugh. It seemed Leonard had more control over Sheldon than he realized. He acquiesced quickly, dropping his objection to her using their shower.

 

“It's right down the hall.” Leonard said and pointed to the hallway opposite of the apartment door.

 

“Thanks.” Penny said and made her way to the guys bathroom. She just hoped that she wouldn't go back to old habits and use their generosity to get free stuff.

 

 

Leonard looked after Penny and audibly exhaled. What was wrong with him? He acted as if Penny was some higher being. He should be more at ease around here, he already had sex with her for god's sakes.

 

"It has been some time since we’ve had a woman take her clothes off in our apartment." Sheldon began.

 

"That’s not true, remember at Thanksgiving my grandmother with Alzheimer’s had that episode."

 

"Point taken. It has been some time since we’ve had a woman take her clothes off after which we didn’t want to rip our eyes out."

 

"The worst part was watching her carve that turkey."

 

"So, what exactly are you trying to accomplish here?"

 

"Excuse me?"

 

"That woman in there’s not going to have sex with you."

 

"If only you knew." Leonard mumbled to himself.

 

"What did you say?" Sheldon asked and Leonard cursed his Vulcan hearing.

 

"I said, I’m not trying to have sex with her."

 

"Oh, good. Then you won’t be disappointed."

 

"What makes you think she wouldn’t have sex with me, I’m a male and she’s a female?" _'Oh, she is definitely an amazing piece of female.'_ he added in his head.

 

"Yes, but not of the same species."

 

"I’m not going to engage in hypotheticals here, I’m just trying to be a good neighbor."

 

"Oh, of course."

 

"That’s not to say that if a carnal relationship were to develop that I wouldn’t participate. However briefly." _'Oh, I would participate. Everyday if possible.'_

 

"Do you think this possibility will be helped or hindered when she discovers your Luke Skywalker no-more-tears shampoo?"

 

"It’s Darth Vader shampoo. Luke Skywalker’s the conditioner." Leonard said and cursed. Sheldon was right. Finding Star Wars shampoo would surely be a turnoff for a woman like Penny.

 

They were interrupted by the arrival of Howard and Raj, who rambled on about a videotape of an old Stephen Hawking lecture, before he became, as Howard pointed out by ways of a monotone voice and his middle finger 'a creepy computer voice'. The one thing Leonard didn't want was for Penny to meet Howard, something that would surely scare her away. He had to get them out now.

 

 

Penny discarded her clothes and stepped into the tub. She adjusted the shower head to her height and was about to turn the tap on when suddenly her head was filled with images of what happened the last time she stepped into a shower. Last time, she had pushed her pelvis against someone's head and ended the shower in the throws of pleasure, with her back pressed against the warm body of the guy out in the living room who had been nice enough to invite her to eat with them and allowed her to shower.

 

Quickly doing some mental exercises to stop thinking about his hand between her legs, she opened the tap and tried to set it to shower. But no matter what she did, it stayed on tub. She thought about taking a bath instead but decided that she didn't really want to impose that much. She stepped back out of the tub, took the nearest towel and wrapped it around her body.

 

"Hey, is there a trick to getting it to switch from tub to shower." Penny asked after she had stepped out of the bathroom before she realized that there were to more people in the room. She suddenly became very aware that she was clad only in a towel. One of the guys, who was wearing tighter pants than she'd ever wear gave her a look that really crept her out. "Oh. Hi, sorry. Hello."

 

"Enchante Mademoiselle." the creepy guy said. "Howard Wolowitz, CalTech department of Applied Physics. You may be familiar with some of my work, it’s currently orbiting Jupiter’s largest moon taking high-resolution digital photographs."

 

"I'm Penny. I work at the Cheesecake Factory." she said, desperately wishing for this conversation to be over.

 

"Come on, I’ll show you the trick with the shower." Leonard said and lead her back to the bathroom.

 

"Bon douche."

 

"I’m sorry?" Penny turned back to Howard.

 

"It’s French for good shower. It’s a sentiment I can express in six languages."

 

"Save it for your blog, Howard." Leonard interjected.

 

"See-ka-tong-guay-jow."

 

 

Only seconds later they were back in the bathroom. Penny quickly closed the door, happy to be away from Howard, while Leonard started working at the tap.

 

"Hey Leonard. He isn't really going to put this on his blog, isn't he?"

 

"I wish I could say no." he answered and concentrated on the tap.

 

Penny watched him work, looking at his hands and how they manipulated the settings. Again, images of last night and what his hands could do flashed through her mind and she desperately tried to suppress them. She noticed his hands had stopped.

 

"What's wrong?" she asked.

 

"Uh, nothing." he said and went back to work to hide his blushing face.

 

_'Yeah right, nothing. You had a flashback to last night, admit it.'_ Penny thought and grinned. A second later, Leonard turned on the tap and Penny noticed the shower head working finally. She discarded the towel again and stepped into the tub, but not before noticing how Leonard quickly turned around.

 

"Leonard?" Penny asked and leaned her head around the shower curtain.

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Why did you turn around?"

 

"Well, uh, you know, you're naked and it's impolite..."

 

"Leonard, sweetie, you have seen me naked already. You can look.

 

“Please don't remind me. I have to fight every urge not to step into the tub with you.”

 

Penny felt a hot flash cursing through her body after hearing Leonard say that. Thank god, she wasn't the only one affected by the memory of last night. She was sure that if they were in her own bathroom with nobody else in the living room, she would have pulled him into the shower already, ripped the clothes off his body and have her wicked way with him. She decided to quickly change the subject.

 

“Leonard?”

 

“Yes, what?”

 

“Can you do me a favor?”

 

“Really?” Leonard asked and Penny could hear the sarcasm in his voice. “You ask me for a favor, knowing full well that I can't ever say no to whatever you ask, when all I can think about is your gorgeous naked body in my own bathtub, a body that looked so damn incredible as it bounced on top of me or writhed under me or that has no spot left that I didn't ran my tongue over...”

 

“Leonard!” Penny shouted, desperately needing him to shut up. He probably had no idea what his description of some parts of last night were doing to her. It was already a chore just to stay on her own two feet and keep her hands from running all over her body.

 

“Yeah sorry. What was it you wanted?”

 

“Remember my ex, Kurt?”

 

“The chauvinistic neanderthal who wanted to cut me open with a broken bottle and eat me for breakfast? Yes, go on.”

 

“Yeah well, he still owes me money and my TV is still at our old apartment, and he refuses to bring them over. He wants me to go over there and get them myself but I really don't want to. Can't you get them for please?”

 

“What makes you think he will give the TV and the money to me?”

 

“I hope you can convince him. You're way smarter than he is, why not trick him into thinking that's a good idea?”

 

“Because I'm not a con man?”

 

“Pleeeeaaase Leonard.” Penny pleaded.

 

“As much as I like you but I think I need to decline. I don't think you can convince me to risk my life and health for something immaterial as a TV set.”

 

“And 1.800 Dollars. It's in an envelope in a box next to the TV.”

 

“Still, no.”

 

“I bet I can convince you. If you lose, you'll go.”

 

“How?”

 

Instead of answering, Penny stepped out of the tub and slowly walked up to Leonard whose eyes were wandering up and down her naked body. She knew that it was mean but a bet was a bet. She stretched her arms upwards and bent her back while slightly hopping on her feet, making Leonard's eyes pop out at the sight of her breasts bouncing up and down. She stepped closer to him, their bodies only inches apart, and grabbed his hands, putting them around her body and on her butt cheeks.

 

She closed the distance between their faces to almost nothing but still not touching and put her arms on his shoulders. But as soon as she realized Leonard wanted to kiss her, she pulled back slightly. They repeated this process twice before Leonard's shoulders sagged a bit.

 

“Okay, you win.” he said and hung his head.

 

“Told you.” she grinned.

 

“Where does he live?”

 

“Take my key to my apartment, it's in my shorts pocket. There you'll find a note with his address.” she said and wriggled out of his grasp and stepped back into the tub and stepped under the water.

 

“You're a mean tease, you know that?” he said and left the bathroom. Penny only grinned under the shower. The whole thing was mean, she knew and on one level regretted doing that to him but on the other hand, it was only a tease if she didn't plan on following through. But that would depend on his success.

 

 

Leonard got the address from Penny's apartment and after putting her key back on her pants in the bathroom he headed out and down to his car. She wracked his brain as to how to convince her ex-boyfriend to give him both money and TV. He knew that Kurt could really eat him for breakfast if he wanted and this time there wouldn't be someone to help. Suddenly Leonard had an idea. He fished out his cellphone and started dialing.

 

“Hey, it's Leonard. I need you help with something. Can I come pick you up?” he asked and listened for the reply. “Yeah, I can do that. But first we do my thing. We need to pick up a TV set and some money. I'll come over and get you, then we get the stuff and after that I help you with your problem... Right, see you soon.”

 

Leonard smiled despite the situation Penny and his own libido put him in. He really was a smart guy.

 

 

After getting into Kurt's apartment building, by way of following a girl scout who simply pressed all the buttons to get in, they went up the stairs. After reaching the apartment, he pointed to the wall next to it and rang the buzzer. And soon enough, Penny's hulking ex-boyfriend opened the door.

 

“What do you want, dwarf?” Kurt asked menacingly.

 

“Penny asked me to pick up her TV and the money you still owe her.” Leonard answered, a bit cowed by Kurt's threatening demeanor.

 

“So what? If she wants her stuff, she can get it herself.”

 

“She doesn't want to see you. Now give it to me.”

 

“And if I don't?”

 

“Then I will go in there and pick it up myself.”

 

“And how will you get past me with two broken legs, huh dwarf?”

 

Instead of answering, Leonard stepped back and two the side and mentioned for someone Kurt couldn't see.

 

“I think you remember Frank from last night?” Leonard asked Kurt who suddenly looked a lot smaller and frightened than before.

 

“Hello.” Frank said in his impossibly deep voice, smiled and waved his toilet seat-sized hand at Kurt.

 

“Uh...” Kurt stammered.

 

“Can I get the TV now?” Leonard asked again.

 

“Uh...”

 

“I'll take that as a yes.” Leonard said and tried to get past Kurt, who was still rooted on the spot. Frank, seeing his difficulties ducked under the door frame, softly pushed Kurt against the wall and held him there while Leonard went inside and grabbed both the envelope from the old box and the TV set after unplugging all the cables.

 

“Penny sends her regards.” Leonard stated before stepping out of the apartment, holding the TV with as much dignity as possible. If he didn't get it down soon, it might slip out of his grasp. It wasn't particularly heavy but its size compared to his own body was another matter. He heard the door behind him close and Frank step behind him.

 

“Let me take it, Doctor Hofstadter.”

 

“Thanks Frank. And what did I tell you about the name?”

 

“Right. Leonard. I forgot.”

 

“No problem. Lets put this thing into my trunk and then head to the university. Don't worry, when we're done with your experiment, you'll have an A in no time.”

 

“Thank you Leonard. You're a life saver.”

 

“Actually Frank, today you were the life saver.”

 

“Is Penny the young lady you were with last night at the bar?”

 

“Yeah, it turns out, she's my new neighbor.”

 

“Oh cool. Having a hot neighbor.”

 

“Watch it Frank. Remember, Alice will probably rip out your pubic hairs one at a time when she hears you compliment other women. But don't worry, I won't tell.”

 

“Thanks.” Frank said with a scared look in his eyes. Leonard could only laugh at the notion that a guy who was seven feet and two inches tall and weighing almost 400 pounds was afraid of a woman who only reached his chest.

 

 

After Penny finished her shower, he dressed again in her short jeans and blue top. Stepping outside, she saw the guys sitting on the couch, watching an old video tape of a short guy giving a speech about physics that she couldn't begin to comprehend.

 

“What are you watching?” she asked and sat down on the armchair.

 

“It's a lecture by Stephen Hawking?” Sheldon said and gave a facial expression she realized was supposed to be a smile.

 

“Who's Stephen Hawking?” Penny asked.

 

“Who's Stephen Hawking?” and exasperated Sheldon repeated. “Only the most intelligent man on the planet. The radiation that black holes emit is named after him. Perhaps my only equal on this planet.” The others looked at Sheldon as if he had lost his mind to compare himself to Hawking.

 

“Why are you watching an old tape of him?”

 

“He's almost completely paralyzed and can't talk anymore without a speech generating device that he controls only with his eyes.”

 

“Oh that wheelchair guy from The Simpsons.” Penny stated.

 

“If you like wheelchairs, I have one at home. Care for a ride.” Howard asked with raised eyebrows.

 

“Not in a million years.”

 

“So, there's a time frame.”

 

“I think I better head home. I still have boxes to unpack.” Penny said and got up. After opening the door, she turned around. “Thanks for letting me use the shower.”

 

“What did you do with the towel?” Sheldon asked.

 

“I threw it in the laundry basket.”

 

“Without hanging it up first?” Sheldon burst out in panic and ran to the bathroom.

 

Penny just shook her head and went into her own apartment. She wondered if Leonard had managed to get her TV back. She really needed to exchange phone numbers with him. After unpacking several more boxes, she found some with her sleeping garments and took out some of her more skimpy pieces. If Leonard was successful or not, he deserved a reward. She just hoped that he wouldn't see her as some kind of slut who gave out sex for little favors left and right.

 

 

“Yes Sheldon, I'm fine.” Leonard spoke into his phone to a worried Sheldon. It was kind of his own fault for not telling him that he was helping Frank with the setup of his experiment. “No, I had to go work for a while, I had to set up an experiment for another lecture I'm giving in a few days.... What?... No, you don't have to co-lecture, only me... Yes, I know... Fine... I'll be home soon... No, I can't be more specific... No, I'll go to Penny's before coming home, she asked for my help with something... Yeah, bye.”

 

Leonard sighed and hung up. It was moments like these that drove him into bars to get hammered on beer. But today that wasn't an option, he still had to drive and Penny's TV in the trunk. He specifically didn't tell Sheldon when he was going to be home because of Penny's TV in the trunk. She promised him a reward for returning it to her and he was eager to see what she had in mind.

 

He knew what he hoped for. But he had to admit that it was kind of a long shot to believe that she would offer a repeat of last night. As much as he wanted it, he'd never force the issue.

 

But what if she did offer a repeat of last night. Would that mean that she had deeper feelings for him that mirrored his own for her? Or would it be an intimate way of just saying thank you. If so, did she do that with other men who did her favors? He really didn't just want to be a notch in her bedpost.

 

He was pretty sure that Penny wasn't cheater. But they weren't a couple, not even close. And as much as he liked her to be his girlfriend, he was pretty sure that he was far down on her scale of preferred boyfriends. He wasn't tall or muscular, the only thing speaking for him was his intelligence. But intelligence didn't help to lift up girls to press them against the wall. Damn, he had to stop this train of thought when driving.

 

 

It was a few minutes after 9 pm when Penny heard the knock on her door. She put down the latest box she was unpacking and headed for the door. Upon opening, she found herself face to face with a TV on legs. Leonard couldn't see it, but she was smiling wide and inwardly she did somersaults. His reward would be well deserved.

 

“Look what followed me home.” a slightly out of breath Leonard said.

 

“Oh my god, you got it? Come in, come in.” she said and made room for him to enter.

 

She cleared some space on her side table by the wall and Leonard put the TV down before connecting all the cables. She picked up the remote she had found in her fourth box and clicked the TV on, pleased that it worked like a charm.

 

“I almost can't believe you really got it. I thought I sent you on a fools errand.” Penny said and smiled at him.

 

“Yeah, you kind of did. But I also got this.” Leonard said and took the envelope out of his jacket pocket, handing it to Penny. She opened it and her eyes went wide. In it, in different denominations were the 1.800 Dollars Kurt had still owed her.

 

“Oh my god, how did you convince him to give you money and TV set?”

 

“Well, I used my wits and appealed to his dignity.” Leonard and said and Penny only looked at him with an expression that more or less said 'Yeah, right'. “Fine, I called Frank and had him accompany me. He held Kurt against the wall while I got TV and money.”

 

“Frank? That huge bouncer from the bar?”

 

“Yeah, why?”

 

“How did you get him to help you with his? Couldn't that be interpreted as theft?” Penny asked concerned.

 

“Not really. The stuff was yours to begin with so in the most literal sense, nothing was stolen from Kurt. And I helped Frank with an experiment, that's why I'm only here now.”

 

“Wow, you really are an amazing man, you know that?” Penny said and put her arm around his shoulders and the other hand on his other arm.

 

“Don't sweat it. What are neighbors for?” Leonard said and shrugged.

 

“No, this goes beyond neighbors. You still are way better than any guy I know.”

 

“It's okay.”

 

Leonard was massively aware of the position of her arms and tried to appear as relaxed as possible. But it was hard. Whatever shower gel she used, she smelled amazing, almost alluring and her outfit had become even hotter if that was possible. Then it hit him. She had changed from her short jeans into something that resembled pajama shorts only they were tighter than he thought were comfortable for a good nights sleep. And she had taken off her blue shirt she had worn today and changed into the same upper body outfit she wore the night before with the low cut and amazing cleavage. He also couldn't help but notice that she wasn't wearing a bra. And the tightness of her shorts made him painfully aware that she had no panties underneath them.

 

Didn't she know what she did to him, dressing like that? He'd took deep breaths, concentrating on the news that were ran on the still on TV and trying to banish thoughts of her naked body moving on top or below him. He just hoped that the bulge in his pants wasn't as noticeable as he worried it was.

 

 

Penny smiled. She knew exactly what was going on in Leonard's head. She kept her arms around him, occasionally squeezing his arm while keeping her upper body connected to his. She purposefully had changed into the same upper body outfit as yesterday and her tight pajama shorts that showed off her curves. She had also omitted panties and bra this time, wanting to waste even less time if the evening led to what she hoped it would.

 

“Leonard?” she said in a husky tone, breathing out his name the same way she did last night, when he was showing her his oral skills in the shower.

 

“Yeah?” he croaked, his gaze fixed on the TV which only made Penny smile even more. She was glad and excited to have such an effect on him.

 

“I promised you a reward, didn't I?” she said and switched off the TV before throwing the remote on the couch.

 

“Uh, you did, yes.”

 

“Aren't you curious what I have in mind?” she asked and stepped in front of him and molded her back to his body. She started moving her hips and pressed her butt into his groin, the low groan coming from his throat and bulge in his pants evidence of his arousal.

 

“Yes, I'm very curious.” he said, almost relieved that he was able to breath out.

 

“Then come with me, I'm gonna show you what I have for you.” she said and took his hands, placing it on her butt cheeks like she did in the shower before she led him into her bedroom.

 

 

Sheldon shut off the TV and got up, putting his glass in the kitchen sink. Leonard wasn't home yet but he said he would be helping Penny with some moving stuff. He had heard him knock on her door half an hour before so he wasn't worried that something had happened to him. Penny probably was driving him crazy with some harebrained story of hers. Suddenly he heard the muffled sound her crying out Leonard's name.

 

“Typical. Only one day as her neighbor and he already made her yell at him. And he still thinks he has a chance of having coitus with her.” Sheldon said and giggled before heading to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Not owning anything
> 
> Enjoy :)

Penny was partially draped over Leonard's body, her head on his chest listening to his constant and soothing heartbeat and her right hand drawing circles on his stomach. At the same time, Leonard moved his right hand up and down her back and occasionally let it rest on her butt, gently squeezing it.

"So." Penny started while placing small kisses on his chest to sooth the bite marks she had left there. "Did you like the reward?"

"I did. I highly enjoyed it. So very very much." Leonard grinned and gave her butt another squeeze.

Penny again was mesmerized by the two sides of this short and bespectacled fella, who had come into her life less than 48 hours ago. One one hand he was the very assertive, confident and therefore very hot Leonard who took charge in the bedroom after a little hint. And then there was the sober and very shy Leonard who had problems looking her in the eyes but still was very cute.

“Leonard?”

“Yes?”

“I have another favor to ask?”

“Oh come on. Will that become a habit now, asking me to do things when you're naked in the same room with me, knowing that I can't say no when you start jiggling your breasts?”

“Does it work?”

“Of course it does.” he answered deflated. “What do you need now? Another pick up from a gargantuan ex-boyfriend?”

“No, nothing so dramatic this time.” she said and lifted herself up onto her elbow, looking down at him while his eyes were glued to her breasts. “I ordered a media center for my TV and DVD collection from IKEA and it gets delivered tomorrow but I most likely won't be home then. Would it be possible for you to sign for it and bring it into my apartment?”

“I can put it in front of your apartment. I don't have a key.”

“I'll give you my spare key, silly.”

“Okay, that sounds easy enough. You sure that the delivery man isn't your ex?”

“Very sure.”

“Fine. We should be home during the afternoon. The four of us have a gaming day planned tomorrow.”

“Don't you have to go to work?”

“It's Saturday.”

“Right. I have to go to work in the early morning this weekend, have to get up at like eight in the morning.”

“Eight is early morning for you? Sheldon gets up at 6:30 am on weekends to watch Doctor Who.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. But he's also in bed very early, like 10 pm. And on that note, I better go over there and to bed.”

“You could sleep here.”

“I would love to. But Sheldon would start asking questions why I wasn't sleeping in my own bed and an hour later, Howard and Raj would know too. Sheldon can't keep secrets.”

“Oh, too bad. My poor sweetie.” she said and ran her hand over his chest.

“Can I use your shower? I can't use ours because it violates the roommate agreement to use it after ten in the evening and I don't want to go to bed covered in a sheet of sweat.”

“Sure. But it's a good kind of sweat, isn't it?” she grinned.

“Absolutely. But Sheldon would smell it and start a discussion about personal hygiene and I really don't want that.” Leonard said and got up, grabbing a spare towel of Penny and heading towards her bathroom.

“Back up a second.” Penny shouted after him. “You guys have a roommate agreement?”

“Unfortunately yes.”

“What's in there?”

“Every eventuality that someone like Sheldon could ever think of. Don't ask.” he answered and headed into the bathroom.

It took him only a few minutes to shower, all the while Penny stayed in her bed, working hard at not getting up and joining him to repeat the shower adventure of the night before. When he came out, he grabbed his clothes and put them on again minus the hoodie which held in his arms.

“That was very nice Penny. I like your idea of rewards. Thank you.”

“No, thank you.” Penny said and got up to walked to her apartment door with him.

Leonard was painfully aware of the fact that she didn't bother to put on clothes. Leonard opened her apartment door and Penny stayed a bit out of sight to minimize the risk of someone walking by while she stood there in her birthday suit. Seeing that nobody was in the hallway and no noise to indicate that someone was coming, she put her arms around Leonard's shoulders and kissed him.

“See you tomorrow, Leonard.” she said after breaking the kiss. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye Penny.” Leonard answered and left. After one last look, Penny shut the door.

She went into her bathroom to wash up and brush her teeth before getting back into her bedroom. She laid down on her bed and took out her phone and took a very special picture of herself for later use. She then put her sleeping garments back on, wondering how her shirt had ended up stuck on top of the window frame and got under the covers. Closing her eyes, she smiled to herself and let the events of the past hour and a half run again in her head.

 

_Penny held Leonard's hands on her butt, leading him into her bedroom. He turned her around and pressed her to him, locking their lips together, his hands still on her ass and squeezing her cheeks, a move that made her moan into his mouth. Penny quickly discarded his hoody and opened his pants, letting it fall to the floor. The whole thing brought a sense of déjá vu because last night she took his clothes off in the same order._

“ _Take your shirt and socks off and lay down on the bed.” she commanded and he readily complied._

_When Leonard was prone, she stood at the foot of the bed, looking down on him with eyes that were almost complete black with arousal. She bend down, with the low cut of her shirt revealing the extraordinary amount of cleavage again, and ran her hands over his legs, higher and higher until her fingers were playing with the hem of his shorts. She saw the bulge in them and smiled before slowly pulling down his underwear, freeing his erection from its confinement._

“ _Someone's happy to see me.” she remarked with a grin._

“ _Nobody in the world would blame me.” he replied and sat up to remove her shirt only to be pushed down again._

“ _Not yet.” she said and made herself comfortable._

_She lowered her upper body to his groin area and kissed the tip of his manhood before taking it into her mouth, letting her tongue roll over it. Leonard's head fell back on the cushions and his hips arched upwards at the sensation. She took it out again and slowly ran her hand up and down his shaft, waiting for him to calm down. The last thing she wanted was for him to finish too soon._

_Seeing his breathing returning to normal, she winked at him at took him back into her mouth. This time, she slowly bobbed her head up and down, letting her tongue run alongside his erection and swirling it around its tip, eliciting more moans from him. She could feel him straining to keep his hips from bucking upwards again._

_She took her time, slowly pleasuring him. She usually wasn't one to do things like this, especially with knowing that he got quite ready as soon as she took her clothes off, but after he showed her yesterday in the shower what his tongue was capable of, she deemed it only fair to offer him the same treatment. She lifted her eyes and saw him with his head resting on his hands, eyes closed and a content smile on his face._

_He was harder than ever before when she lifted her head up again, giving the tip one last kiss before getting up on her knees. She slowly lifted her shirt over her head, revealing her breasts and peaked nipples, which caused him to lustily groan at the sight. He was about to lift himself up again but she held him down and gently shook her head. She then ran her hands over hear breasts, moaning at the contact and smiling when she heard yet another groan from Leonard who was about to get up again to participate._

“ _Stay.” she ordered and he reluctantly put his hands back behind his head._

_She stood up on the bed, putting her fingers under the waistband of her very tight shorts and played with it for a bit until she heard one more groan from him, this time born out of eagerness. He mumbled something about her being a mean tease as she turned her back to him. She bend forward, conscious of her position on the bed, and slowly pulled down her shorts. Leonard behaved and stayed down, though she wouldn't have mind this time if he had gotten up to bury his head between her legs again._

_She turned back towards him, took two small steps and placed her feet left and right of his hips. She ran her hand over her folds, moaning again at the contact and enjoying the teasing of Leonard whose hands had grabbed her ankles and were now gently rubbing up and down her legs as far as they could reach._

_Finally she couldn't take it anymore. She needed him right now! She squatted down, spreading her legs wide and unable to hide her grin when his eyes almost popped out at the sight that greeted him. She grabbed his erection and guided it to her entrance before sliding slowly down its length. She gyrated her hips a few times to get used to him before she started bouncing up and down hard, their skin slamming together in that beautiful rhythm that was sex._

_She bent backwards, placing her hands next to his legs and giving him an even better view. The change in angle caused even more pleasure, making her moan loudly every time she slammed down before shouting out her climax when Leonard started rubbing her clitoris in synch with her movements. She scooted back forwards, putting her knees on the bed and rode out her high, her body still twitching from the sweet release of endorphins that was an orgasm._

_After she had come down again, she put her hands on his chest and started moving forwards and backwards like she had last night, alternating the speed from slow to fast to slow and mixing it up with gyrating movements to feel his manhood moving against her inner walls and letting out a quiet squeal every time the movement made him hit her g-spot._

_Despite her plans to prolong it as much as she possibly could, she felt herself involuntarily speeding up, forgoing the gyrating in favor of the straight movement. She heard his breath hitch as she rode him hard and fast, her bedframe slamming against the wall in that regular interval that told every neighbor what was going on._

_As her walls clenched around him, she heard him cry out his own release. With her own orgasm washing over her, she collapsed onto his chest, sinking her teeth into his skin to muffle her scream of pleasure._

_They stayed in this position for a while, both panting heavily although Penny wondered why he was so out of breath when she did pretty much all the work._

“ _Wow.” Leonard said. “That was... wow.”_

“ _I know.” Penny replied and snuggled deeper into his chest. She again wondered why it was so different with him. She had had plenty of other men before and Leonard was hardly the most well endowed one compared to some of the others. But with him, she so far the climaxed twice each time they did it and it felt so much better than with her former boyfriends or one-night-stands._

_When she felt gravity doing its work, she got up and went into the bathroom to clean herself up before she had to change the bedsheets. She noticed Leonard following her, his right hand around his member to hold back any residual spill. To Penny, the whole scene was again frighteningly domestic as they moved around each other to clean themselves up._

_Leonard was done first and went back into the bedroom. When Penny followed two minutes later, she was delighted so see Leonard lying, still naked, in her bed. He motioned for her to join him and she happily complied, molding herself to his body and letting out a contented sigh. She realized that she could used to this but in one small part of her brain, the whole notion freaked her out. She wasn't looking for a relationship right now, having just left one on very bad terms._

_Suddenly she jerked awake when she felt Leonard move and get out of bed. She must have dozed off for a few minutes and for a minute had trouble getting her bearings. She was snapped out of her daze when she heard the toilet flush and Leonard returned to the bedroom. She wanted to tell him to come back to bed when she saw him picking up his clothes from the floor._

“ _Wait. Are you leaving now?” she asked, cursing herself for sounding so needy._

“ _Well, you have been dozing for more than thirty minutes and if I stay here any longer, Sheldon might become suspicious and come over to check.”_

“ _What did you tell him?”_

“ _That you asked me to come over to help you with some more moving stuff.”_

“ _Well, there was moving...” she said and grinned._

“ _Yeah, there was.” he replied and grinned right back._

“ _You know, you don't have to leave now.” she said in a seductive tone._

“ _Oh? What are you offering me to stay?” he asked and raised his eyebrows._

“ _Well, how about this.”_

_With this, Penny turned around and got on her hands and knees before lowering her upper body to the mattress. Leonard felt his manhood growing again at the sight of this beautiful woman offering herself to him. Not wasting any time with talk, he climbed on the bed, positioned himself and entered her in one swift motion, causing her to moan loudly at the sensation._

_He set a steady rhythm, the slapping of skin on skin once again echoing through the room, mixed with the sound of two people groaning and moaning each others names before Penny started to twitch in pleasure and collapsed fully onto the bed, whose frame was again hammering against the wall. Leonard didn't stop his movements and continued on in this new angle, again causing even more pleasure for Penny and himself. She once again felt him hitting that one sweet spot inside her over and over again._

_Penny felt the tremor begin in her abdomen, right where Leonard kept hitting her g-spot in that almost maddeningly strong and steady rhythm. She tried to brace herself for what she felt coming but she could never have anticipated the intensity. It was as if a fuse had been lit and was burning its way up her spine in frustratingly slow motion. Moving beyond her chest, it built in strength. She felt her arms twitching like banners in the wind. As the power of the pleasure wave increased to almost beyond what she was capable of enduring, it broke inside her brain in a mighty explosion, which caused her whole upper body to jerk upwards and she felt more than heard herself screaming his name like it was the only thing left worth mentioning in the entire universe._

_She fell back onto the bed just as Leonard reached his own climax, once more spilling his seed inside her and collapsing onto her back. She heard him breathing heavy and knew she sounded exactly the same. Now she knew why he had been out of breath after the first time tonight despite her being the active one._

“ _My god.” she breathed, unable to find her voice yet. “That was... my god.”_

“ _I know.” he replied, just as she had before._

_He rolled off her onto his back and she automatically turned with him and molded herself to his body, laying her head on his chest and listening to his still rapid but slowing heartbeat. She closed her eyes and hummed, again sated beyond her expectations. She didn't even mind that this time she would have to change the sheets._

 

Leonard tiptoes into the apartment as to not wake Sheldon. He quickly went into the bathroom to brush his teeth before heading into his bedroom. He changed into his sleeping shirt and shorts and went into bed. Although he should be tired after the long day and the very satisfying evening, his mind was still way too wired to fall asleep.

So far, Penny had always been the one instigating their carnal endeavors. He would love to simply visit her some time and just slam her against the wall before taking her right there but he was unsure if it would push her away and stop the whole thing dead in its tracks. He knew he was overthinking this but he couldn't help himself.

He kept thinking about the blond goddess who lived a few dozen feet away and how great her body felt when it was grinding against him. He knew in his heart and especially in his groin that he wanted to keep doing this with her. With these thoughts in his head, he fell into an satisfied sleep.

Unbeknownst to him, a certain blonde goddess was lying in her bed across the hall, thinking the exact same thing.

 

When Leonard left his bedroom in the morning, dressed in his usual attire, the other three guys were already there, setting up the game they would play first. He grabbed himself some food and sat down into his usual seat.

“Leonard, has your ineptitude at doing assembly work already barred you from any progress with Penny?” Sheldon asked in his usual blunt way.

“What?” Leonard replied confused.

“I'm curious. Yesterday evening shortly before I went to bed I could hear hammering from Penny's apartment and since you told me you had to help her with more moving stuff, I assumed you tried to put together some furniture. And considering the fact that she yelled your name right before the hammering stopped, I postulate that you did in fact, to use street slang, screw up.” Sheldon explained and looked down at Leonard from his standing position. “And why do you have a large purple spot on your shoulder?”

_'Crap.'_ Leonard thought and remembered how Penny bit him into the shoulder to prevent her scream during their first time last night. “Yeah Sheldon, but it wasn't my fault. I was hammering some nails into the walls for her pictures and the hammerhead fell off and hit my shoulder. And please don't touch it, it's really sore.”

“Hm, I guess it's possible that Penny ignored the safety instructions on the box to check if the tool isn't damaged or worn out. And why would I touch your neck?”

“I don't know. Scientific curiosity?” Leonard asked and cursed himself. He wanted to quickly end this conversation before either Raj or Howard realized what this bruise actually represented.

“My scientific curiosity does not include other people's bodies.” Sheldon stated and walked to the kitchen.

“Fine. Alright people, it's Halo time!” Leonard announced and killed any further inquiry as others were too busy staying alive in the game.

 

Penny left her apartment, wearing her cheesecake factory uniform. She knocked at the guys apartment door and it didn't take long for Leonard to open. She smiled sweetly at him.

“Oh, hey Penny.”

“Hey sweetie, you forgot the key yesterday.”

“And you gave me a hickey on my neck.“ he whispered and pointed to his shoulder. She blushed as she remembered why she had bitten him there. Suddenly the door opened completely to reveal the other guys and Howard said something in Russian.

“What?” she asked him.

“Haven’t you ever been told how beautiful you are in flawless Russian?” Howard asked.

“No, I haven’t.” she replied.

“Get used to it.” he said.

“Yeah, I probably won’t, but… Hey Sheldon.”

“Hi.” the lanky physicist replied.

“Hey Raj.” Penny said to the Indian who looked _uncomfortable._ “Still not talking to me, huh?”

“Don’t take it personally, it’s his pathology, he can’t talk to women.” Sheldon stated.

“He can’t talk to attractive women, or in your case a cheesecake–scented Goddess!” came from Howard, of course.

“So, when's the furniture delivered?” Leonard asked and Penny silently thanked him for bringing the conversation back to its original purpose.

“They said sometime in the afternoon but if I’m not here then could you just sign for it and have them put it in my apartment.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Great, here’s the spare key. Thank you.”

“Penny, wait.” Leonard shouted after her.

“Yeah?”

“Um, if you don’t have any other plans this afternoon, do you want to join us for Thai food and a Superman movie marathon?”

“A marathon? Wow, how many Superman movies are there?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Sheldon asked as if she had just told him that Pi is just cake.

“Yeah, I do like the one where Lois Lane falls from the helicopter and Superman swooshes down and catches her, which one was that?“

“One.” they all replied in unison, except for Raj who just lifted a finger.

“You realize that scene was rife with scientific inaccuracy.” Sheldon asked her.

“Yes, I know, men can’t fly.” she replied.

“Oh no, let’s assume that they can.” he went on. “Lois Lane is falling, accelerating at an initial rate of 32 feet per second per second. Superman swoops down to save her by reaching out two arms of steel. Miss Lane, who is now traveling at approximately 120 miles per hour, hits them, and is immediately sliced into three equal pieces.”

Penny immediately lost interest after that. Over-analyzing movies was always a great way to ruin them.

“Unless, Superman matches her speed and decelerates.“ Leonard started and Penny turned around to leave. She had a shift to get to. She grinned to herself as she kept hearing them argue until Sheldon pointed out that they had locked themselves out of their own apartment. She was still laughing when she got into her car and drove the work.

After she finished her shift, she decided not to go to the guys to watch Superman but instead went to her first girls night with her new colleagues. During the evening, several really hot guys came up to them to flirt and Kim, one of the girls she worked with eventually left with one of them and the other two too gave them their numbers. But Penny, while friendly, remained distanced and gave the more direct ones a cold shoulder.

After she got home, she wondered what had changed. Normally in a bar, she didn't have a problem with giving guys her number and some of them looked like those she had taken home before for a fun night but this time, she just wasn't interested. She kept looking into her own eyes in the mirror while she brushed her teeth and was still wondering about the whole thing when she fell asleep a few minutes later.

 

After being waken up by her alarm, again at the crack of dawn that was eight in the morning, she did her morning ablutions and went into her living room to rummage in her fridge for breakfast. Her still sleepy mind took a minute to realize that something had changed in the apartment. She wondered why it was so neat suddenly until she found a note.

“ _Penny, after cleaning up your mess last night, I created some organizational schematics for your bedroom closet to maximize space usage. You're welcome. S.”_

“Son of a bitch!” she shouted. “You sick, geeky bastards!”

She ran out of her apartment, still in her robe with no shoes and opened the guy's door without bothering to knock. She didn't know if they were still sleeping but she didn't care. She would throw them out of their beds if she had to. But unsurprisingly, both Leonard and Sheldon were already up.

“You came into my apartment last night when I was sleeping?” she shouted at them.

“Yes, but only to clean.” Leonard defended with his hands up.

“Really more to organize, you’re not actually dirty, per se.” Sheldon added.

“Give me back my key.” she said and held her hand up towards Leonard. She couldn't believe that he was a part of this.

“I’m very, very sorry.” Leonard said and gave her the key back. His whole posture made her want to take him into her arms. But one look at Sheldon brought her rage back to the fore.

“Do you understand how creepy this is.”

“Oh, yes, we discussed it at length last night.” Leonard said.

“In my apartment, while I was sleeping.” Boy, this was getting better and better.

“And snoring. And that’s probably just a sinus infection, but it could be sleep apnea, you might want to see an otolaryngologist. It’s a throat doctor.” Sheldon said which only infuriated her more.

“And what kind of doctor removes shoes from asses?” she asked him while closing in on him.

“Depending on the depth, that’s either a proctologist or a general surgeon.” Sheldon answered and Penny wondered why he took her question serious until she turned her head and saw Leonard holding up a piece of paper with the word Sarcasm written on it, which caused Sheldon to get her point.

“God!” Penny exclaimed and went to the door.

“Okay, look, no Penny.” Leonard pleaded. “I think what you’re feeling is perfectly valid, and maybe a little bit later today when you’re feeling a little bit less, for lack of a better word, violated, maybe we could talk about this some more.”

“Stay away from me.” she shouted, more for Sheldon's behalf than for Leonard but right now she felt so betrayed she couldn't think straight.

“Sure, that’s another way to go.” she heard Leonard say and was about to close the door when Sheldon spoke up again.

“Penny, just to clarify because there will be a discussion when you leave, is your objection solely to our presence in the apartment while you were sleeping, or do you also object to the imposition of a new organizational paradigm?”

Penny could only stare at Sheldon in disbelief and left. She sat down on her couch and held her head into her hands. She knew she had to talk to Leonard later as to his role in all this and why Sheldon did what he did but right now she was still trying not to freak out. She also wondered if the whole thing had put an end to her occasional, well so far nightly, sexual adventures with Leonard, something she didn't really want to end. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door which she answered. Outside she found Sheldon.

“What?” she asked him, hoping that her straight face would prevent him from going on some ramble about the state of her apartment.

“I am truly sorry for what happened last night.” he started. “I take full responsibility. And I hope that it won’t color your opinion of Leonard, who is not only a wonderful guy, but also, I hear, a gentle and thorough lover.”

Penny shut the door into his face, hearing him mumble something to Leonard. Her reaction wasn't because what he said but because she needed to hide both her smile and blush.

“You're right about one thing, Sheldon.” she said to herself. “He really is a gentle and thorough lover.”

 

After driving home from work after her shift, she briskly walked up the stairs only to catch up with Raj, who was carrying a bag full of take-out containers. She poured her heart out to him about what happened and her former boyfriends, wondering why he didn't comment. After finishing, she thanked him for listening with a quick hug and went by him and into her apartment.

She changed into some more comfortable clothes and poured herself a glass of wine. As she grabbed a magazine, she suddenly realized why he never said something. Because he actually couldn't. Shaking her head, she started reading the first article about a woman who killed her husband after he came home with liquor breath.

After watching a movie, she noticed a piece of paper moving under her apartment door. Wondering what that was all about, she opened it and saw Leonard kneeling on the floor, holding the piece of paper.

“Hi.” she said to him, her anger from before evaporating upon seeing him.

“Oh.” was the only thing he got out.

"What’s going on?" she asked.

"Um, here’s the thing." he started and started reading from the note in his hands. "Penny. Just as Oppenheimer came to regret his contributions to the first atomic bomb, so too I regret my participation in what was, at the very least, an error in judgment. The hallmark of the great human experiment is the willingness to recognize one’s mistakes. Some mistakes, such as Madame Curie’s discovery of Radium turned out to have great scientific potential even though she would later die a slow, painful death from radiation poisoning. Another example, from the field of Ebola research….”

“Leonard.” she interrupted.

“Yeah?”

She pulled him into a long hug and enjoyed his scent. “We’re okay.” she said, put her hands on his face and gave him a long kiss him on the lips that promised him that everything really was fine.

 

A few hours later, Penny watched the guys as they unpacked her new media center. While Leonard and Sheldon were doing inventory to check if every screw and bolt was in the box, Raj and Howard were already looking over the assembly instructions.

"Six two inch dowels." Leonard read from the inventory list.

“Check.” Sheldon, who was sorting the bags, answered.

“One package, Phillips head screws.”

“Check.”

“Guys, seriously, I grew up on a farm, okay.” Penny stated and picked up one of the parts. “I rebuilt a tractor engine when I was like twelve, I think I can put together a cheap Swedish media center.“

“No, please, we insist, it’s the least we can do considering.” Leonard said as a form of apology for what Sheldon did.

“Considering what? How great this place looks?”

Penny shook her head. She had already experienced how peculiar Sheldon was but the fact that he didn't even concede that entering the apartment of someone else in the middle of the night was wrong, even when it was, in Leonard's words 'only to clean' made her aware that she would probably have to block the door with a chair in the future if she didn't want that to happen again.

“Oh boy, I was afraid of this.” Howard said from across the room and the others headed to him. “These instructions are a pictographic representation of the least imaginative way to assemble these components. This right here is why Sweden has no space program.”

“Well, uh, it looked pretty good in the store.” Penny said in defense of her choice.

“It is an inefficient design.” Leonard conceded. “For example Penny has a flat screen TV, which means all the space behind it is wasted.”

“We could put her stereo back there.” Sheldon said and Penny thought, that was actually not a bad idea.

“And control it how?” Damn Leonard for giving the valid objections.

“Run an infra-red repeater, photocell here, emitter here, easy peasy. “

Penny zoned out again after hearing the words infra-red repeater and picked up some tweezers. She looked at the parts and saw immediately how they had to be assembled.

“Guys, this is actually really simple.” she called over.

“Hold on, honey, men at work.” Howard answered her, which kind of infuriated her. How dare this little boy talk down to her as if she was a poor girl incapable of doing some construction work? Despite her glare, the guys were again completely engrossed in their planning.

“Guys, it’s hot in here, I think I’ll just take off all my clothes.” Penny said more in jest to see if anyone of them would react despite their concentration. Surprisingly, Leonard did, lifting his head to look at her with a look that was a mix of both curiosity and arousal. She smiled at him and, after making sure all the other guys were still completely absorbed by the plans, pulled down the sides of her shirt to reveal her bra-less chest. A second later she was covered again but was rewarded with his shocked expression before he went back to plan. He said something about aluminum and the group disbanded.

"Perfect." Howard stated. "Leonard, why don’t you and Sheldon go down to the junk yard and pick up about six square meters of scrap aluminum, Raj and I will run down to my lab and get the oxy-acetylene torch.”

"Meet back here in thirty minutes?" Leonard asked around and the others agreed.

"Wait!" Penny shouted and they all stopped.

"What?" Sheldon asked.

"Leonard, could you stay here? I still have a bathroom cabinet to put together and hang up in my bathroom and I need someone to hold it while I screw it in."

"Why Leonard? I could help you." Howard said in his usual creepy voice.

“Because.” Penny started. “I don't think Sheldon is any good in construction, Raj can't talk to me so he couldn't tell me if I do anything wrong and I really, and I can't stress it enough, I really don't want to be alone in the same room with you.”

“Fine.” Howard pouted. “Raj, you take Sheldon to the junk yard for the scrap and I will get the torch.” After they had all left, Leonard turned to her.

“You don't have a cupboard to hang up. I was in your bathroom last night.”

“I know, but I just gave us thirty minutes.” she grinned seductively and shook her upper body.

That was all Leonard needed. He rushed over to her and grabbed her at the waist, lifted her up and kissed her hard on the lips while he carried her into the bedroom. He didn't see where he walked so it came at a surprise when he ran into the side of the bed and with a surprised yelp both collapsed on it, with her below him but both refused to let their lips part. She quickly shoved his hoodie off him, wondering why he always wore these, and opened his belt again.

He pulled his pants and boxers down and immediately removed her own pants and panties in one move. Without bothering to take off their shirts she opened her legs wide again and he dove into her, entering her in a swift motion and without waiting a second started pounding her hard. She moaned loudly into his mouth, their tongues still fighting for dominance and he was neither unable nor unwilling to prevent his own loud groan escaping his body.

He kept his pace up, slamming into her in fast intervals. Her own hips bucked up to meet this thrusts, making the bed creak with the force exerted on it. Feeling his climax fast approaching, Leonard stood up, lifted her legs to his shoulders and continued to pound her while his hand started rubbing between her legs. His ministrations worked because just as he was falling over the edge, she loudly went along with him as he collapsed onto her body. They both stayed in that position for a while, coming down from their highs and trying to get their breathing under control.

“I hope none of the guys goes into your bathroom. Could be hard to explain why there isn't a bathroom cabinet in there.” Leonard said and grinned at her.

“Well, there was screwing, nailing and hammering involved.” she replied and grinned right back, unable to stop smiling.

“True. But it's easy to prevent. Sheldon won't use it when you say there's dirty laundry in there, Raj can't ask you to use it and you won't let Howard in anyway.”

“Wow, you are a genius.”

“Of course I am.” he smiled and kissed her again, which she gladly reciprocated.

Suddenly her doorbell rang. They looked at each other and realized that they have been lying in that position for almost twenty minutes after their quickie. Penny ran to the door, still naked from the waist down.

“Who is it.” she asked into the speaker.

“Howard. Who did you expect? Can you let me in, I don't have a key and the door is closed.”

“Sure.” she said and buzzed him in before turning to Leonard. “What do we do. Howard is back.”

“Crap. Go into the bathroom to clean yourself up and get dressed. I'll let him in when he's up here. And don't forget to comb your hair!”

She did as he told her, hurrying into her bathroom with her pants and panties in her hands. She cleaned herself up, unable to stop smiling as she worked on herself only minutes after an orgasm. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw the reason for Leonard's order to comb her hair because it was messed where her head had been pressed to the mattress. She just hoped that the other guys were too busy and/or too inept to realize that she positively glowed.

When she came out again, the guys were hard at work. It appeared that Sheldon and Raj had arrived shortly after Howard, who was busy cutting the aluminum parts into shape with the torch. Raj was holding them in place while Sheldon and Leonard were busy assembling the wooden parts. She smiled to herself. She really had some amazing new neighbors and friends.

“Guys.” she said into the room. “As a thank you, I'm buying you dinner. You can order anything you like.”

“Really?” Sheldon asked. “That's nice. Welcome to the building Penny.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greetings. Another chapter is coming :) In this one, I have combined two different episodes and mixed up their events to better fit my story. You'll probably notice which episodes and which scenes from it. I also changed their attire and the chapter is mainly from Penny's point of view :)

Penny flopped down in the break room of the Cheesecake Factory, exhausted after yet another busy shift. Today it had been even worse when Cheryl, one of her colleagues had to take the day off due to a family emergency and Penny had to do a double shift. She did it because she needed the money but it was a really hard day. She also felt disappointment of sorts.

It had been three weeks since she last had sex with Leonard. Since then, she always had the evening shifts, so when she got up in the mornings, at 11 am, Leonard was at work and when he was at home, she was at work. And when she was finally home, Leonard was either already in bed or she was too exhausted to do anything.

Not even the weekends had made something possible. She had been over there for dinners but Sheldon always had their evenings planned out, which usually involved playing video games until deep into the night. And since she couldn't just tell the guys that Leonard had to take a time out to have sex with her, she could do nothing but watch TV or read.

She was frustrated. And now she had to go home again without being able to see Leonard, and while it was earlier than the days before and the night was still young, she knew that the guys were possibly playing another video game. She couldn't fault him for that, they weren't a couple.

_'Boy, it would be so much easier if we were a couple.'_ Penny thought while she left the Cheesecake Factory. It wasn't the first time something like this went through her head but every time it did, she immediately dismissed the idea. She had left a four-year relationship on very bad terms and although Leonard was a far cry from every guy she ever dated, she still was apprehensive.

“Hey there.” came a male voice from beside her which made her snap around and her body go into a stiff defensive mode, ready to go Nebraska on the guy, should he try something funny. She noticed the good looking guy who she had flirted with an hour before at the bar. She flirted with most guys in there, it helped go get tips.

“Hi.” she replied and smiled shyly.

“I'm Doug. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to get a drink with me.” the guy said.

Penny wasn't sure why she hesitated. 'Because it's not Leonard who is asking.' she thought and again wondered what happened to her. But she hadn't had a date in weeks.

“I'm kind of exhausted but sure, a drink would be nice. Pick me up in an hour?”

Penny gave him her address and got into her car. On the entire way home, she tried to figure out why she hesitated so much lately when it came to people asking her out. It couldn't just because of Leonard. Sure, he was nice, caring and a lot of fun in bed. But he wasn't the kind of guy she usually ended up dating.

If he asked her out, would she say yes? _'Perhaps.'_ she thought. He would most likely stand in front of her, awkwardly stammering out words and looking at his feet instead of her. Then, after getting out the question she'd watch him start to sweat slightly and then smile at his cute grin after she said yes. _'Would I go out with him if he asked me? Most likely.'_

After showering, she rummaged through her closet for something to wear but then decided to simply take what's lying on top of the piles. She didn't know where this evening would go but she told Doug the truth when she said that she was exhausted. Not ten minutes later, someone knocked at her door and after putting on some finishing touches of her make-up, she opened the door to find her date for the evening.

“You ready?” he asked and she frowned slightly. Not even a hello? She was even more surprised when he grabbed her arms and kissed her just as she heard Leonard's door open.

“Penny, the mailman did it again, he… Oh, sorry.” she heard him say and when she looked at him, she felt her heart breaking. He had the same look of utter devastation on his face that she had after she had found out that Kurt had been cheating on her.

“Um, no, hi Leonard, this is Doug, Doug, this is my neighbor Leonard.” she introduced them, trying to get some control over her emotions.

“What’s up bro.” Doug said.

“Not much. Bro. “ Leonard replied, which made Penny smile just a bit as his attempt to sound street.

“Is, is everything okay.” she asked Leonard. _'What am I asking? Of course everything is not okay. I can see it in your eyes.'_

“Uh, yeah, uh, I just, I got your mail again, here.”

“Thank you, I’ve got to talk to that mailman.” _'Do I really have to? Or is you getting my mail that often an attempt to come to me without anyone noticing something odd? God knows, every time you brought me my mail, someone or something always interrupted us.'_ she added in her head.

“Oh no, that’s probably not such a good idea. Civil servants have a documented propensity to, you know, snap.”

“Okay, well, thank you, again.”

“No problem. Bye. Oh, and bye, bro.” Leonard said and left them alone.

Penny felt her heart grow heavy at the sight of Leonard slinking back into his place. He looked like someone had just killed his pet in front of his eyes. She was almost tempted to blow off the date to go to and comfort him but then again, they weren't together. He had never asked her out. He never even made the move, in every sexual encounter they had so far, she was always the one initiating it.

“Let's go.” she said to Doug and they left.

* * *

“So, your neighbor.” Doug started, bringing Penny out of her reverie.

“What about him?” she asked and took another sip of her drink. She wondered how they mixed their Long Island Ice Teas here. She had drunk them before but none had ever had left such a weird aftertaste in her mouth.

“Don't you think he's a little weird?”

“What? No! He's really sweet.”

“Come on. “The mailman gave me your mail again”? That's the oldest trick in the book to excuse a visit.” he said, getting louder.

“What? I don't think that he does something this childish. Especially since he can visit me any time that he likes. He doesn't need a reason to.” she said, his accusations and especially his tone really starting to annoy her.

“Maybe. But I think it would be better for you if you stay at my place tonight.”

“Seriously? That's your line? Make my sweet neighbor look bad so I can “conveniently” stay at your place tonight?” Penny almost shouted, which caused some heads to turn into their direction. Not that she cared. Penny started to feel sick. Really sick. Either the ingredients had gone bad or the barman mixed her drinks wrong.

“Calm down, will you?” Doug shout-whispered. “People start looking.”

“Oooh, am I embarrassing you? How's this? I'm leaving. Thanks for the drinks. Which taste horrible by the way.”

Penny got up from her stool and headed for the entrance. The beats in the club, combined with the sick feeling inside her made it almost impossible to keep the contents of her stomach from exiting her body in the wrong direction. Looking back she saw that Doug was following her out but she wasn't inclined to listen to any explanation. Staying with him was out the question, she felt way too sick for that.

She was about to call a cab when strong hands grabbed her and turned her around.

“Come on baby, lets go to my place and we can talk this out.”

“NO!” she shouted and tried to get out of his grasp. She really had a hard time not throwing up. “Let go off me!”

Suddenly, Doug was pulled backwards with tremendous force and his head slammed onto the hood of the cab she had been trying to get into. She saw him struggling to get up but the hand holding him down didn't let up.

“Are you okay?” a female voice asked her.

“No, I feel really sick.” Penny answered and tried to focus her eyes on the woman in front of her. She was tall, almost as tall as Sheldon was and very well built in a feminine way.

“Don't worry, we won't let him hurt you. We'll take you home. Right babe?”

“Right honey.” a very deep voice said and made Penny snap around, a bad move considering her spinning head and churning stomach. She knew that voice from somewhere. “Hello Penny.”

“Oh, hello. Frank was it, right?” Penny said to him after she finally saw who he was. She recognized him as the bouncer who had held down Kurt when he started to make a scene during the night she had met Leonard.

“You know her?” the other woman asked Frank and Penny heard slight jealousy in her voice.

“Yes, I met her last month when I worked at Harry's. She and Dr. Hofstadter sat together and she's his new neighbor now.”

“Ah. Okay. I'm Alice by the way.” the woman said to Penny and shook her hand.

“Alright, little man, you run off now.” Frank said to Doug and let him go. Not wasting any second, Doug ran off, making Penny smile a little. She was again mesmerized by the sheer size of Frank, dwarfing everybody around them. He wasn't just tall, he was built like a tank or a building with teeth and his deep voice shook her diaphragm each time he talked.

For a second she wondered how it would like to spend a night with him but quickly discarded the thought when suddenly her stomach finally gave out and she had to expel its contents on the sidewalk. That bar really had bad drinks.

“Holy crap, do you need to go to the hospital?” Alice asked while she held Penny's hair.

“No, I'm hoping it's all out now. I think their ingredients for the Long Island Ice Teas have gone bad, they tasted funny all evening and left a bad aftertaste in my mouth too.” Penny said after she stopped retching.

“Strange, I had some too and they tasted good, as they always do.” Alice replied and her eyes flicked to Frank's who gave her a nod. They had a nagging suspicion that there had been more than just the alcoholic beverage in Penny's glasses.

They quickly put Penny into the backseat of Frank's SUV and Alice sat down next to her to help her if she felt sick again while Frank started driving. Since he knew where Leonard lived he didn't have to ask for her address. During the short drive, Penny fell asleep and Frank had to carry her upstairs. He was tempted to knock on Leonard's door but since it was almost one in the morning, he didn't want to disturb him. Alice fished Penny's keys out of her purse and opened her apartment.

“Okay babe, put her into her bed and I'll get her a glass of water.” Alice ordered and Frank complied. She soon joined him in Penny's bedroom and put the glass on the night stand. She realized that Penny had woken up again.

“Now get out, I have to get her out of this dress.” Alice said to Frank and without even the hint of an argument he left the bedroom and closed the door. “Penny, can you sit up? You need to get out of these clothes.”

“Yeah, I think so.” Penny replied and sat up. She got out of her shirt and pants and put on her pajamas and as soon as she was done, Alice handed her the glass.

“Drink this.”

“Leonard taught me that as a hangover remedy.” Penny grinned and gulped down the cool liquid in three large swigs. “I can't thank you enough for your help.” she said and wiped away the tear that had rolled down her cheek.

“It was our pleasure. See it as an extended Thank You for Leonard's help with Franks experiment a few weeks ago. It got him an A+.”

“Oh, that's nice.” Penny mumbled and promptly fell asleep again. Alice simply grinned and tucked the blanket over her. After one last look, she left the room, grabbed her boyfriend and exited the apartment. 

* * *

 

When Penny woke up it was almost noon. She had another round of dinner shifts this week which was good because right now she felt like crap. Her stomach was in turmoil and she barely remembered anything substantial from last night. She did remember arguing with Doug and being brought home by the Frank the bouncer slash student and his girlfriend after the evening had ended rather badly.

She went into the bathroom first, frowning at her appearance. She must have fallen asleep right after getting home last night, her make-up was smudged all over her face and she looked like she had been crying although she didn't remember doing that. After exiting her bathroom she headed into the kitchen to make some coffee and while the coffeemaker ran, she quickly got dressed in sweats. No need to wear something sexy since nobody was around, especially not Leonard and she had to leave for work in a few hours.

She took her phone and saw that she had a new message. It was from Cheryl, the colleague at the Cheesecake Factory she had done the lunch shift for the day before.

**Hey, wanted to thank you for taking my shift yesterday. I hope it wasn't too bad.**

Penny quickly typed in a reply. **It was okay. But two shifts in a row are really exhausting.**

It didn't take long for Cheryl to answer. **Is that why you are up so late?**

Penny hesitated. She didn't know if she should tell Cheryl about her rather catastrophic evening. But on the other hand, maybe it would be good to talk about it.

**One of the guests asked me out when I left and I said yes. He took me to Mojito's.**

**Uh, that's a great place. Did you go home with him after that? ;)**

_'Typical of Cheryl.'_ Penny thought. She was worse than Penny was a few years back. Not a week went by without a new guy at her side.

**No, I had to go home. I think the ingredients for my Long Island Ice Teas had gone bad or the barman mixed them wrong, I felt really sick after a few and they left a horrible aftertaste. The guy became really aggressive and wanted me to go to his home with him.**

Instead of a text message this time, her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw Cheryl's number.

“Yes?” Penny said into the speaker.

“Oh my god Penny. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, nothing really happened. I was saved by a nice couple who knows Leonard and the guy recognized me from the bar I met Leonard in last month.”

“You mean the bar that you picked Leonard up in for a wild night of sex and sin?” Cheryl asked and Penny could her the grin in her voice.

“Shut up. I never should have told you about that.” Penny replied but smiled nonetheless at the memory of her first night with Leonard. Luckily she never told Cheryl about the other nights she had with him or she would never hear the end of it.

“Listen Penny, what was the aftertaste?” Cheryl asked, suddenly serious.

“I don't know, I can't place it. I also felt really nauseous, I even threw up on the sidewalk after Frank had run off Doug.”

“I guess Frank is the guy of the couple that helped you. Penny, the reason I'm asking you this is, I was in the same bar the day before and the drinks were fine, I had the same ones as you. I think, the guy you were with has spiked them with something.”

“What? With what?”

“I don't know. Probably not roofies, they are tasteless and only rarely lead to nausea so my guess would be Ketamine. It has the side effects you described.”

“Cheryl, how do you know so much about this stuff?”

“I'm reading it off the internet right now.”

“Ah, okay. So yeah, I'm fine. Well, not really, I feel like crap. But I will go to work today.”

“Great. I'll see you there.”

After Penny hung up, she tossed her phone on the couch next to her and lay her head on the back rest. She took some of her mail and remembered something Doug had said last night. Did Leonard took some of her mail on purpose so he had a valid reason to come over? It would fit. Every time he had done that, she had felt butterflies in her stomach and a warm feeling in her core in anticipation of what might happen.

But every single time they had been interrupted. The first few times it had been friends of hers calling with what they thought was important news that usually involved guys they had just met and “were so in love with”, at least for the week they had dated them. Later, when he came over with mail, she had quickly muted her phone but this time it was his phone that put a kibosh on any possible copulation.

The last two times she had again muted her phone and he had left his in his apartment but both times it had been Sheldon knocking on her door, quickly killing the mood and all chances for anything. She liked Sheldon but those were the days she really wanted to go Nebraska on him. And of course when Leonard brought her the mail yesterday he witnessed her and a guy kissing. She wondered if the mailman would ever again mix up her mail. She sighed when she saw the time. She had to get dressed for work is she didn't want to be late. 

* * *

 

“Hey Penny.” a familiar voice called from behind.

“Oh, hey Cheryl.” she replied after turning around. She saw that Cheryl had a huge smile on her face. “What's up?”

“Guess who's sitting at table 6, all hunky and nerdy with a bunch of his friends?”

“What?” Penny looked out the break room and saw Leonard sitting at a table with Sheldon, Howard and Raj. It put a smile on her face that even after seeing her with another guy he still took the time to come to her place of work to eat, something that according to Sheldon they don't do.

“Ugh, shut up.”

“You shouldn't have told me. And if you don't want him anymore, I gladly take him. After what you told me, he's quite the lover.” Cheryl said and caused Penny to roll her eyes. _'Fat chance. I propose to Leonard before I let you get in bed with him.'_ Penny thought. Then something about what the guys were doing struck her as odd.

“What are they doing with all those bottles of condiments?” Penny asked.

“I don't know, I overheard something about Hulk, Shiva and some cavalry.”

Penny shook her head and took her notebook before going over to their table. Closing in on them, her heart started beating faster. Damn Leonard for having this reaction on her.

“You guys ready to order?” she asked the group but none were really paying attention to her.

“Hang on, honey.” Howard said, more or less waving her off. “Shiva and Ganesh? The Hindu gods against the entire Union army?”

“And Orcs!” Leonard added and Penny had no idea what they were talking about.

“I’ll be back.” she said and went off, shaking her head. Leonard was cute and the others nice as well but sometimes they were too nerdy for her nerves.

“Penny, haven't you taken their order yet?” her manager asked her. “And what are they doing with all those condiments?”

“Well, they are playing some kind of fantasy war game. I can't really say anything more.”

“Tell them either to order something or to leave. If they don't want to eat here, they can free up the table.” he ordered and Penny complied.

“Alright, my boss says you either have to order, or leave and never come back.“ she told them.

What do you recommend for someone who worked up a man-sized appetite from a morning of weight training and cardio-funk?” Howard asked her.

Was that supposed to be some kind of pick up line? “A shower.” she told him and inwardly smiled as his face fell.

“I’ll take the heart smart platter.” he said.

“Alright, thank you, and Sheldon?”

“We don’t eat here, I don’t know what’s good.” the lanky physicist replied.

“Well, it’s all good.“

“Statistically unlikely.”

“Just get a hamburger, you like hamburgers.” Leonard told him. _'Oh sweetie. At least you are here to filter his craziness.'_ she thought.

“I like the hamburgers where we usually have hamburgers, you can’t make the assumption that I’ll like the hamburgers here.” Sheldon said to Leonard.

“I’m sorry. Give him a hamburger.” came from Leonard directed towards her.

“Uh, which one, the Classic Burger, the Ranch House Burger, the Barbecue Burger or the Kobe burger?”

“Can’t we just go to Big Boy? They only have one burger. The Big Boy.” Boy, he was really starting to get on her nerves.

“The Barbecue Burger is like the Big Boy.” she said, trying to remain calm.

“Excuse me, in a world that already includes the Big Boy, why would I settle for something like a Big Boy?” Sheldon asked.

“Because you are not at Big Boy!” Penny yelled back, finally snapping.

“Fine, I’ll have the Barbecue Burger.“

“Make it two.“ Leonard said and handed her the menu he had been holding.

“Waitresses don’t yell at you at Big Boy.” Sheldon added, which had Penny roll her eyes again. Suddenly a dark-haired woman with curls and glasses came up behind her.

“Hey Leonard, hi guys.” she said to the group.

“Hey Lesley.” Leonard answered, which caused another rush of jealousy in Penny.

“I didn’t know you ate here.” Lesley said.

“We don’t. This is a disturbing aberration.” came from Sheldon in his usual manner that always was condescending in some form.

“Lesley, this is Penny, she lives across the hall from Sheldon and me.” Leonard introduced them.

“And walks in quiet beauty like the night.“ Howard added, again causing Penny to grind her teeth.

“Howard, I’ve asked you not to do that.” she told him with as much calm as she could muster.

“Lesley and I do research together at the University.” Leonard explained. Suddenly, Penny felt very inferior and even more jealous.

“Oh, wow, a girl scientist.” she said to cover it up.

“Yep, come for the breasts, stay for the brains.” Lesley replied and directed her attention to Leonard. “So, I’m glad I ran into you, the physics department string quartet needs a new cellist.”

“What happened to Elliot Wong?”

“He switched over to high energy radiation research, had a little mishap, and now the other guys are uncomfortable sitting next to him. So, are you in?”

“Yeah, sure, why not.”

“Great, we rehearse on Tuesdays at your place.”

“Wait, you mean tonight? And why at my place?”

“Yeah, the department of energy said our regular space is kind of a hot zone. Nice meeting you.” Lesley said, directing the last part towards Penny and left.

“Yeah, you too. Leonard, I didn’t know you played the cello?” Penny turned to Leonard.

“Yeah, my parents felt that naming me Leonard and putting me in advanced placement classes wasn’t getting me beaten up enough.“ he replied sarcastically.

“If you’re into music, I happen to be a human beatbox.“ Howard said.

“Really?” she asked and had to suffer the worst beatboxing performance she has ever seen. “I’m actually not that into music. So hey, your friend’s really cute, anything going on with you two?” _'Please say no, please say no.'_

“Lesley? No, no-oh, what are you kidding?” Leonard said and his sudden nervousness made Penny suspicious.

“He asked her out once, it was an embarrassing failure.“ Sheldon interjected.

“Thank you Sheldon.” Leonard said sarcastically.

“Oh, I’m sorry, was that supposed to be a secret?”

“Oh, that’s too bad, you guys would make a cute couple.” Penny said and walked away to get their orders to the kitchen. _'No, you guys would make a horrible couple. Why did I have to say this?'_

* * *

 

An hour after the guys left, Penny finished her shift and went home. When she arrived at the fourth floor, she could hear the string quartet playing in Leonard's apartment. She put her head on the door to listen more closely. It sounded beautiful. And at least Leonard wasn't alone with Lesley. With a smile she went into her own apartment.

After a quick shower, she grabbed the nearest pants and top and sat down on her couch to watch some TV. She also grabbed a magazine and listened to the TV only with one when someone knocked at her door. She turned off her TV and muted her phone, just in case.

_'Please be Leonard, please be Leonard.'_ she thought to herself and opened the door only to find Sheldon in front of it.

“Oh, hey Sheldon, what’s going on?” she asked, a little disappointed.

“I need your opinion on a matter of semiotics.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Semiotics. The study of signs and symbols, it’s a branch of philosophy related to linguistics.”

“Okay, sweetie.” Penny started, already lost after the word semiotics. “I know you think you’re explaining yourself, but you’re really not.”

“Just come with me.” he said and she followed him. He led her towards the bedrooms when she started to hear a Bryan Adams song playing. She saw a tie hanging on Leonard's doorknob and knew immediately what was going on. Suddenly she felt as if someone had punched her in the gut and she had trouble keeping her cool in front of Sheldon despite every urge to run into Leonard's bedroom to demand to know what he was thinking doing it with someone else.

“Well?” Sheldon asked, ripping her out of her reverie.

“Well what?”

“What does it mean?”

“Oh, come on, you went to college.”

“Yes, but I was eleven.”

_'Right, he's a genius and child in a man's body.'_ she thought. “Alright, look, a tie on the doorknob usually means someone doesn’t want to be disturbed because they’re, you know, getting busy.” she explained.

“So you’re saying Leonard has a girl in there?”

_'Unfortunately yes.'_ “Well, either that or he’s lost his tie rack and gotten really into Bryan Adams.”

“Oh Leonard, you magnificent beast.” they both heard a female voice, that Penny recognized as Lesley's, say in a very monotone fashion on the other side. And despite the devastation she felt inside, she had to admit that Lesley was right. He was a magnificent beast in bed.

“We really shouldn’t be standing here.“ Penny said, desperately wanting to get away.

“This is very awkward.” Sheldon remarked after they re-entered the living room.

“Oh, come on, you know, Leonard’s had girls over before, right?”

“Oh, yes, but there’s usually planning, courtship and advance notice. Last time I was able to book a cruise to the Arctic to see a solar eclipse.”

“Wait, you had to leave the state because your roommate was having sex?” Penny asked with incredulity in her voice.

“I didn’t have to, the dates just happened to coincide.“

“So, do you know who’s in there?” _'Why am I asking, I know who's in there with him.'_

“Well, there’s Leonard.” Sheldon answered and picked up a violin case. “And he’s either with Lesley Winkle or a 1930’s gangster.“

“Hmmm. Good for him. Good for Leonard.” she said, her voice betraying her...what? Sadness? Anger? Betrayal? She didn't know what she felt. They weren't a couple, they haven't had sex in weeks and the last thing Leonard saw of her outside of the Cheesecake Factory was her kissing another guy. She needed to get out of here. “Okay, night.”

“No, no, wait, hold on.“

“What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know what the protocol is here. Do I stay, do I leave? Do I wait to greet them with a refreshing beverage?”

“Gee, Sheldon, you’re asking the wrong girl. I’m usually on the other side of the tie.“ Penny remarked and exited the apartment, leaving a flabbergasted Sheldon standing there. Let him figure it out by himself.

Penny returned to her place and went directly into her bathroom. She brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas. After getting into bed and turning off the lights, her thoughts were centered on Leonard and the fact that he was having a great night with a woman that wasn't her. _'It's not fair. I'm supposed to be in there with him, yelling out that he's a magnificent beast, that he should go faster and deeper and do things to me that make me squeal and scream loud and often.'_ And for yet another time in the last three weeks, Penny couldn't stop a tear rolling down her cheek. 

* * *

 

_“Oh yes, don't stop!” she yelled and grabbed the back of Leonard's head while pushing her hips upwards to get the maximum amount of friction. He was doing magic with his tongue again, skillfully bringing her closer and closer to the edge while never quite allowing her to fall over it. His tongue flicked over her nub, again and again and again, causing her to twitch and squeal in pleasure every time he did it._

_She had already climaxed twice but she couldn't get enough of him. She yelled out again when Leonard started sucking on her clit and used two fingers to enhance her already overwhelming pleasure. He didn't even need to move his arm, she did everything herself, rhythmically pushing her hips up and down to experience more of the sweet friction._

_She cried out another climax when Leonard bent his fingers inside her, hitting her sweet spot again with every move. Her back arched and her hips bucked upwards as she rode out her seemingly never-ending orgasm._

_“Please Leonard, I need you inside me now!” she panted and spread her legs as wide as she could, inviting him in. But before she could experience that amazing feeling of his manhood moving inside her and stretching her walls, Leonard was gone._

* * *

 

Penny jerked awake and the first thing she realized was the absence of anyone else. She looked at her watch and saw the time at 7:22 am. _'God dammit.'_ she thought. This had been the second time tonight she had woken up from a hot dream with a certain neighbor of hers before the most intimate contact between them was established. Leonard had always been an inch away right before she woke up.

Although it was, at least for her, still night out despite the fact that the sun was up already, she got out of the bed and freshened up. After she had her coffee, she looked around for something to wear and realized that she had to do her laundry. She put on a shirt and shorts and grabbed her load, walking out of her apartment with the basked in hand just as Leonard exited his apartment, telling Sheldon something about his board that she didn't really understand.

"Oh, hey Leonard." she greeted him, hoping that he didn't notice how uncomfortable she was, knowing that he had sex with another woman last night.

"Oh, hi." he replied and it brought back the butterflies in her stomach.

"So, how’s it going?" she asked with a deliberate swagger in her voice, slightly swinging her hips to remind him, how much better she was than Lesley. She saw that it had the desired effect when his eyes flicked down to her moving hips.

"Pretty good." he replied with a mimicking voice.

"Just pretty good, I’d think you were doing very good." _'Smooth Penny, compliment him for doing it with another woman.'_

"Pretty, very, there’s really no objective scale for delineating variations of good, why do you ask?"

"Well, a little bird told me that you and Lesley hooked up last night."

"Sheldon!" Leonard yelled through clenched teeth, knowing exactly who the little bird was.

"I’m coming."

"So, is it serious, do you like her?" _'Crap, why do I have to sound so desperate?'_

"Wuh, I don’t…. th-th-th-that’s really two different questions, uh, I’m not…. Sheldon, we have to go!" Leonard yelled again, completely ignoring her questions.

"Boy, you’re wound awfully tight for a man who just had sexual intercourse." Sheldon stated when he walked briskly past them and down the stairs.

"Alright, well, I’ll talk to you later, but I am so happy for you Leonard." Penny said and went down the stairs to the laundry room without looking back so Leonard wouldn't see her face. _'No, I'm not happy for you Leonard. I'm really unhappy right now. And it freaks me out.'_

* * *

 

Penny walked out from the kitchen and saw her two neighbors sitting at a table. She saw Sheldon say something to Leonard who just gave him a miffed look so whatever Sheldon said, it was probably something only Sheldon would say. She decided to greet them.

“So, how’s everything.” she asked.

“Terrific, you’ll be happy to know that I plan to come here every Tuesday night for the foreseeable future.” Sheldon replied.

“Really, oh yay!” Penny said with forced happiness. “But you do realize that Tuesday was yesterday, right?”

“I know, this is an exception. By the way, who do I speak to about permanently reserving this table?“

“Um, I don’t know, a psychiatrist?” Penny said exasperatedly and turned to Leonard. “So hey, how are things with you and Lesley?”

“Oh, to be honest, I don’t think it’s going to work out.“ Leonard replied and saw the tension in Penny. She had been like that for a while now but it got worse since Lesley had shown up yesterday.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” _'No, that's great.'_ “Well hey, don’t worry, I’m sure there is someone out there who is just right for you.” Penny said and walked away with a smile. _'There's someone for you alright and she's just walking away from your table. And if you would just take the lead, she would fall into your arms because she's too afraid to make a move herself.'_

* * *

 

Another morning broke and Penny woke up way too early. This time it wasn't by a dream of Leonard in her bed doing things to her that made her scream in pleasure, at least not a vivid one. She barely finished in her bedroom when someone knocked on her door again. She opened it to find Leonard standing there, fully dressed.

“Hey sweetie, what's up?” she asked.

“Morning, I hope I didn't wake you but there's something I wanted to talk to you about before we head to work. Can I come in?”

“Sure.” she replied and made way for him to pass. He sat down on her couch and looked at her until she sat down next to him. “So, what's going on?”

“Okay, um, for the last few weeks you were really tense and it got a lot worse since the day before yesterday. I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“Sure, why won't everything be alright?”

“Because you're obviously lying. I can see it in your eyes. I may be socially inept in a lot of ways but even I know that something is really bothering you. Even Sheldon noticed.” Leonard stated and Penny turned her head away from him. With three little sentences he had broken down her entire guard. She had to fight hard to keep a tear from rolling down her face again.

“Penny, what is it?”

“Fine, I'm not okay. I'm far from okay. I'm frustrated because every time we could have gotten together, something interrupted us. Be it my girlfriends or Sheldon or whatever. And to top it all off I had to witness Lesley Winkle saying that you're a magnificent beast...”

“Wait, you heard that?” he asked and Penny nodded. “How?”

“Sheldon called me over and asked me what a tie on the doorknob means.”

“Then did you hear when I...”

“No! We left immediately after.”

“Okay... Well, I only did what I did because you had obviously moved on.” Leonard said after a short pause.

“What? Why did you think that?”

“Because I saw you kissing your new boyfriend in the hallway. It can't really get more obvious than that.”

“Leonard... That guy isn't my new boyfriend. He just greeted me with a kiss that I didn't even want. I met him that same evening and he asked me out. And it had been a long time since I went on a date and you never asked me out, so I agreed. The drinks he bought me made me sick and I left early. Nothing happened.”

“Oh... Wait, because I never asked you out? I did that because you said you wanted to keep this between us secret.”

“No, what I meant was, we agreed that we didn't want your friends and roommate to know that we're sleeping with each other. I never said I wouldn't go on a date with you.”

Leonard stayed silent for a while. This talk had gone into a direction he didn't expect. But it gave him an opening he was willing to use.

“Fine. Tonight, we're going to dinner. Just you and me.” Leonard said and stood up.

“Was that a question or an order?” Penny replied grinning.

“You can see it as whatever you like, it won't change the outcome. You and me are going to a nice evening dinner and depending on how it goes, we're going to have desert here at your place.”

_'God, he's so hot when he's that confident.'_ “Are we having desert in my bedroom?” she asked seductively.

“Or on your couch. Or in your shower. Or on your table there. Maybe even all those places.”

Penny felt heat pooling in her lower body. She was ready to pounce on him right there when a persistent knocking on her door interrupted them yet again.

“Leonard, are you done in there? If we don't go now, we'll be late for work.” the voice of Sheldon did what it could do best. Kill the mood.

“Okay, that's my cue to leave.” Leonard said and headed to the door.

“By the way, greetings from Frank and Alice. They helped me get home Monday night.”

“Oh, that's nice. Okay, then I guess I'll see you tonight.” 

* * *

 

At 7 pm sharp, Leonard knocked softly on her door. She opened it to his smiling face and the butterflies came back into her stomach. “Hi there.” she greeted him, not able to get out a longer sentence. She didn't know why but she was nervous.

“Hi.” Leonard replied and Penny heard the nervousness present in his voice. “Wow, you look nice.” he added after looking up and down her body.

Penny was happy that her outfit got this reaction from him. All day she had prepared for this evening, going so far as to shave every inch of her body that wasn't supposed to have hair. She spent hours picking out her clothes and ended up with a blue strapless dress that reached the middle of her thighs with a light jacket over it to protect her from a possible breeze.

The cut of the dress prevented her from wearing a bra, something she was sure Leonard wasn't against and as a surprise for him she had, after mulling for almost an hour about which thong to wear, forgone to wear any of them at all. She expected to come back here with him, she wanted to, so much. It went even so far to say that she needed him to come back to her place.

“Okay, lets go.” Leonard said and they went down the stairs, walking lightly as to not alert the guys who she knew were playing games across the hall. After her suggestion this morning, she knew he had told them he was going out with someone but he didn't tell them who it was as to “not scare her away prematurely”.

During the entire drive she noticed Leonard's tense stance, the way he gripped the steering wheel or how he moved after they got out of the car. Like a true gentlemen, he got around the car and opened the door for her, another first in her long list of dates. As she got out of the car, she saw his concentrated facial expression.

“Leonard, are you nervous?” she asked him.

“No, I'm terrified. This is where I usually start to screw things up.”

“Leonard, sweetie, I already said yes. We're here, try to relax.” she said and took his hand, interlacing her fingers with his. It apparently had some calming effect when she felt him relaxing, if only just slightly.

They entered the restaurant and were led to their table. After giving their drink orders to the waitress, an uncomfortable silence descended over them.

“So, what’s new in the world of physics?” she asked him, desperately wanting him to say something.

“Nothing.”

“Really, nothing?”

“Well, with the exception of string theory, not much has happened since the 1930’s, and you can’t prove string theory, at best you can say “hey, look, my idea has an internal logical consistency.” But so far, it hasn't stopped Sheldon from touting it as the solution to everything and lording it over everybody.”

“Ah. Well I’m sure things will pick up.“

“What’s new at the Cheesecake Factory?” he asked her.

“Oh, uh, not much. We do have a chocolate key lime that’s moving pretty well.” she replied with a grin. Compared to his field of work, her's was meaningless.

“Good. Good.” Leonard said and another unfortunately silence came over them. Penny had thought often about what a real date with Leonard would be like and imagined what she would do when and how. But now, sitting here with him, she was as lost for words as he seemed to be.

“Hey, do you want to see something cool?” Leonard broke the silence and Penny nodded. “I can make this olive go into this glass without touching it.”

“How?” she asked.

“Physics.” he told her and smiled. He put an olive on the table and took an empty glass, placing it over the olive and starting to spin it in a rapid circular motion. Penny watched in amazement as the olive started to get caught up on the sides of the glass.

“Wow, centrifugal force!” she proclaimed.

“Actually, it’s centripetal force.” he corrected. “Which is an inward force generated by the glass acting on the olive. It's the same principal a spin dryer uses to dry clothes. Or a hammer thrower exerts centripetal force on the hammer as it builds up speed before release.” he explained and Penny dreamily looked at him when she saw the passion and confidence come back. This was the Leonard she wanted, comfortable, assertive. She was about to point out how attractive she was finding him right now when she saw the olive drop.

“Excuse me.” Leonard said and disappeared under the table. “Now, if you were riding on the olive, you’d be in a non-inertial reference frame, and would...” he continued to explain and after finding the olive, he couldn't help but notice his proximity to Penny's long, smooth legs. That alone wasn't unnerving the least, already having experienced her legs around his neck, his waist and pretty much anywhere on his body but when she did the Sharon Stone move, he snapped his head back when he saw that she wasn't wearing any underwear and promptly banged it against the underside of the table.

“Are you okay?” she asked him with the concern evident in her voice.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” he answered and Penny relaxed. “Did you spill ketchup?”

“No.” Penny started to get worried because in that moment, she knew this evening was over.

“I’m not okay.” Leonard said and came back up, holding the back of his head. Penny could see his hand turning red where he pressed it onto his head.

“Oh my god, you're hurt. We need to get to the hospital.”

“Don't be silly, I'm fine.” he replied and she could see his eyes glazing over.

“That's it, lets go. We're leaving.” she said and pulled him with her, watching out for his footing so he wouldn't fall down. She pulled the car keys out of his jacket pocket and put him into the passenger's seat before getting in the driver's seat herself and starting the car. Her concern for his well being made her break quite a few traffic laws but right now she didn't care. 

* * *

 

“Will he be okay?” Penny asked the doctor on staff.

“Sure. The wound was minor and didn't need stitches, he should put an ice pack on it when he gets home. He also has a mild concussion so I recommend bed rest for a day or two and absolutely no heavy lifting or otherwise long or strenuous activity.” the doctor replied.

Penny sighed. Well, that put a kibosh on any pleasuring activity he had planned for them. Because she wanted the activity to strenuous and long.

“Thank you.” Leonard said to the doctor and accepted the prescription for some pain medication. They left the hospital and Penny drove them home, regularly checking on Leonard. After parking his car, he helped him out of the car and they went up the stairs in silence. After reaching their floor, Leonard turned to Penny.

“Listen, I'm sorry about tonight...” he started but Penny cut him off.

“Don't be, it was an accident. That could have happened to anyone.” she said.

“No, it couldn't. This is what I usually do. I screw up bad. Granted, I don't usually end up in the emergency room but I do make a big mistake and the entire thing is over.” he said apologetically.

“Do you want to come in?” she asked after they arrived at her door.

“No, it would be best to follow the doctor's advice. Which means I'll go lay down and sleep this off.” he replied and Penny could hear the disappointment in his voice. It seemed that he had been looking forward to their planned after-dinner activities like she had. She desperately hoped this whole thing wouldn't discourage him from asking her out again because despite everything that had happened today, she would immediately say yes as soon as he asked.

“Okay then. Good night Leonard.” Penny said and gave him a soft, lingering kiss on the lips before disappearing into her apartment. Leonard let his gaze linger on her door for a few more seconds before sighing and opening the door to his own place. The other guys were still in there playing.

“So, how was your date with your mystery woman?” Howard asked. “Was it fun?”

“Well, if you can call dropping food on the floor and banging your head on the table when attempting to pick it up so you end up in the emergency room with a concussion fun, then yeah, it was. Otherwise, it was what every normal person calls a disaster.” Leonard replied and went into his bedroom.

He quickly washed up and brushed his teeth before heading into bed. After he had settled in, he noticed a message on his phone and his face lit up when he saw that it was from Penny.

**Despite what happened, I had a nice time. And to encourage you to ask again, this is what will be waiting for you when we get home after a date without a stopover at the hospital. :-x**

He opened the attached picture and almost choked at the sight that greeted him. There was Penny, on her bed and naked, with spread legs, one hand on her left breast, her right arm stretched behind her, grabbing the headboard. 

* * *

 

Penny hoped that the message she sent him was encouragement enough. During the last few weeks she had taken a number of pictures of herself in various positions with different amounts of clothing but she thought that the first one she took after their second night together was still the best one. She had the sated look on her face she absolutely wanted to have again and that she thought she could only have with Leonard anymore. It had only been three minutes before Leonard replied.

**Oh, I will definitely ask again. And maybe I will forgo the date entirely and we'll just have desert to minimize the chances of me screwing up ;)**

Penny closed the message and smiled to herself. The picture had had the desired effect on Leonard and while she wouldn't mind another date, she really enjoyed the plan of confident Leonard to just come over and do her the way only he can. Oh yeah, she definitely looked forward to that. With a relaxed smile, she closed her eyes. They were back on track.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you have it. I hope you didn't fall asleep in the middle ^^
> 
> Review please :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I have to apologize in advance. I wanted to write a shorter chapter than the last but it got away from me again and it has become even longer. Ah well.
> 
> Warning: Chapter is M-rated. Smut will happen.
> 
> Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it...?
> 
> Enjoy :)

“Yeah, this Saturday. Here at my place... Yes, I know my apartment is not that big but I talked to some of my neighbors and we can use parts of the hallway and stairs too... Alright, bye, see you Saturday evening.”

 

Penny hung up her phone. She had now invited the last of her intended guests for her Saturday Halloween party. She just needed to do some grocery and especially alcohol shopping before then and all would be great. _'Maybe I'll ask Leonard to come. And the other guys too, of course.'_ she thought before she finished dressing in her work uniform and headed out. On the way down she could hear the guys arguing and the unmistakeable voice of Leonard saying something about a yarmulke.

 

Leonard. The thought of him alone brought a smile to her face. After their date disaster, they had promised each other another try with added 'desert' at her home, something she intended to collect very soon. And if he didn't hurry up, she would simply grab him one day when he comes up from doing laundry, pull him into her bedroom and have her wicked way with him. When she reached the third floor, she saw the group, dressed in their paintball outfits full of color which told her that they had probably received a beating.

 

“Oh, hey guys.” she greeted them cheerfully.

 

“Hello Penny.” Leonard was the first to answer, which brought warmth to her heart and some other parts of her anatomy.

 

“Morning ma’am.” Howard said, mimicking a soldier. He reminded Penny of something like a kid soldier in Africa due to his almost teenage figure.

 

“So, how was paintball?” she asked, although she knew how it must have ended. “Did you have fun?”

 

“Sure, if you consider being fragged by your own troops fun. You clear space on your calendar, there will be an inquiry.” Sheldon replied, directing the last part at Howard.

 

“Okay. Oh hey, I’m having a party on Saturday so if you guys are around you should come by.”

 

“A party?” Leonard asked as if the whole notion was a foreign concept.

 

“Yeah.” she said.

 

“A boy-girl party?” came from Howard. Leave it to him to make a four-word question sound creepy.

 

“Well, there will be boys, and there will be girls, and it is a party. So, it’ll just be a bunch of my friends, we’ll have some beer, do a little dancing…” Penny started to explain.

 

“Dancing?” Sheldon asked in the same tone as Leonard, as if the concept of dancing was from another world.

 

“Yeah, I don’t know, Penny…” Leonard began, which caused disappointment to worm its way into Penny at his apparent rejection of her offer.

 

“The thing is, we’re not….” Sheldon started.

 

“We’re really more….” Leonard said at the same time.

 

“No.” Sheldon simply stated without any further explanation as to why not.

 

“But thanks for thinking of us.” Leonard told her, giving Penny a smile that she wanted to see all day.

 

“Are you sure? Come on, it’s Halloween.” she pleaded, desperate to have at least Leonard there. She saw that Sheldon's attention perked up at the word Halloween.

 

“A Halloween party?”

 

“As in, costumes?”

 

“Well, yeah.” Penny replied to Howard as if costumes at a Halloween party is a strange occurrence.

 

“Is there a theme?”

 

“Um, yeah, Halloween.”

 

“Yes, but are the costumes random, or genre specific?“

 

“As usual, I’m not following.” Penny told them, wondering again how they could something simple as a planned Halloween party to something complicated.

 

“He’s asking if we can come as anyone from science-fiction, fantasy…” Leonard explained.

 

“Sure.” she said and also affirmed he next question about comic book characters. She hoped it was the end of it but Sheldon kept pestering her about more genres. She really was losing her cool and she also had to go to work.

 

“Anything you want, okay? Any costume you want.” she said, stopping any further questions before she turned to leave. “Bye.”

 

Penny turned and walked down the stairs. She heard them trampling up the stairs to Leonard and Sheldon's apartment. As she drove to the Cheesecake factory, she thought about Leonard again, as she did almost every day when driving to work or home from there.

 

Those were the moments when she mentally slapped herself. She wanted to be closer to him, even more than just sex but she was never able to actually either approach the topic or completely make her mind up. Every time she thought about a steady relationship her mind wandered back to Kurt and how that had ended. She knew that Leonard wasn't a cheater, even after he slept with Lesley. But that was partly her own fault for having gotten a kiss from a guy in front of him.

 

Kurt. Another thing she sure she made a mistake about. She had met him the day before and he had been strangely nice to her, going so far as to assure her that he had changed. Was he attempting to get back together with her? She knew from her friend Kim that since their break-up, Kurt had slept with at least six other woman, maybe even more.

 

And despite the fact that she was a hundred percent sure that she will never ever get together with Kurt again, she had, in the spur of the moment, invited him to her party and she wasn't mean enough to disinvite him. Not that it would stop him from showing up anyway.

 

And how come she and Leonard never found a quite moment together anymore? During the last few days she had the afternoon shifts and was able to have dinner with the guys every day but never once got the opportunity to get Leonard alone in some way for an hour or two. The guys were always hanging out, doing the things Sheldon planned out for them or going to the comic book store or playing video or board games. Once Leonard had tried to invite her for a round of online gaming but she quickly had shot the idea down, much to Sheldon's delight.

 

With a sigh, she pulled into the Cheesecake Factory parking lot and got out of the car.

 

Two more days went by quickly and soon enough it was Friday. After Penny bought all the groceries, drinks and snacks for the party, she stopped at the costume shop once more to return her nurse costume. She had already planned to wear something different after Leonard had agreed to come to the party but it became even easier after she had learned that one of her friends was also dressing as a sexy nurse. She looked at the cat costume and grinned. Tomorrow evening would be great.

 

 

“Oh, hey guys.” Penny greeted the group who stood in the hall in their costumes.

 

“Hey, sorry we’re late.” Leonard was the first to answer.

 

“Late? It’s 7:05.”

 

“And you said the party starts at seven.” came from Sheldon.

 

“Well, yeah, when you start a party at seven, no-one shows up at, you know, seven.“ Penny said as if stating the obvious.

 

“It’s 7:05.“

 

“Yes. Yes it is.” Penny said, giving up her argument. “Okay, well, um, come on in.“

 

“What, are all the girls in the bathroom?” Howard asked while looking around.

 

“Probably, but in their own homes.“ Penny countered.

 

“So what time does the costume parade start?“

 

“The parade?” Penny asked. _'What the hell is Sheldon up to?'_ she thought.

 

“Yeah, so the judges can give out the prizes for best costume, you know, most frightening, most authentic, most accurate visual representation of a scientific principle.”

 

“Oh, Sheldon, I’m sorry but there aren’t going to be any parades or judges or prizes.“

 

“This party is just going to suck.“

 

“No, come on, it’s going to be fun, and you all look great, I mean, look at you, Thor, and, oh, Peter Pan, that’s so cute.”

 

“Actually, Penny, he’s Rob…” Leonard started but was interrupted by Howard.

 

“I’m Peter Pan! And I’ve got a handful of pixie dust with your name on it.“ Howard said and blew an imaginary handful of pixie dust at her.

 

_'Why does he have to be so creepy?'_ “No you don’t. Oh, hey, what’s Sheldon supposed to be.”

 

“Oh, he’s the Doppler Effect.” Leonard said as if that was enough.

 

“Yes. It’s the apparent change in the frequency of a wave caused by relative motion between the source of the wave and the observer.” Sheldon explained in his usual fashion.

 

“Oh, sure, I see it now, the Doppler Effect.” Penny said, not wanting Sheldon to go into it even further. “Alright, I’ve got to shower, you guys um, make yourselves comfortable.“

 

Penny went to her bathroom and into her shower. As she stood under the stream of water, she couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. Again, Leonard was in her living room, but should be in here with her, pleasuring her like only he can but couldn't be because of the presence of the other guys who always had a knack of interrupting anything that could happen between them.

 

After drying off, she put on her costume and make-up, smiling at her reflection. It would surely get a great reaction from Leonard. The other guys probably too, except for Sheldon but she only cared for the reaction of one of them.

 

She was on her way out when her doorbell rang. She opened the door and welcomed her first guests after the guys. The evening had begun.

 

 

“Penny, can I talk to you?” a voice behind her said. She turned around and saw her ex, dressed as what surely was supposed to be Tarzan. Usually, an appearance like this had turned her on, his body buff and ripped and tanned. But she had experienced the performance of a certain physicist and the fact that Kurt had cheated on her cooled her off even more.

 

“What do you want? I have guests to take care of.” Penny replied impatiently.

 

“They're fine. What is the dwarf doing here?” he said and pointed to Leonard.

 

“His name is Leonard. And he's here because I invited him. He's my friend and neighbor. You shouldn't be like this to him, if I have to choose who to throw out, he is not the one to leave.”

 

“Come on baby, you would throw me out? I was always so good to you?”

 

“Seriously? Are you going there again? Is cheating on me your definition of being good to me?”

 

“I apologized for it. Baby, I have changed.” he replied and tried to touch her face. She twisted away and swatted his hand away. Her eyes met Leonard's and she sent a silent cry for help to him. He immediately came over, Sheldon in tow.

 

“Hello Penny. Hello Kurt.” Leonard said to them.

 

“Oh, hey guys. You having a good time?” she replied, wanting to steer away from Kurt.

 

“Given the reaction to my costume, this party is a scathing indictment of the American education system.” Sheldon said in his usual way.

 

“What, you’re a zebra, right?” came from Kurt which made Penny's eyes roll. This would be good.

 

“Yet another child left behind.” Sheldon said, making Penny smile.

 

“And what are you supposed to be, an Elf?” Kurt directed at Leonard.

 

“No, I’m a Hobbit.” was the reply.

 

“What’s the difference?“

 

“Uh, a Hobbit is a mortal Halfling inhabitant of Middle Earth, whereas an Elf is an immortal tall warrior.”

 

“So why the hell would you want to be a Hobbit?”

 

“Because he is neither tall nor immortal, and none of us could be The Flash.” Sheldon elaborated and drew a smirk from Kurt.

 

“Well, whatever, why don’t you go hop off on a quest, I’m talking to Penny here.” her ex said, and if Penny had to roll her eyes anymore, they would disappear into her head.

 

“I think we’re all talking to Penny here.” ' _Oh, brave brave Leonard.'_

 

“I’m not. No offense.“ Sheldon interjected.

 

“Okay, maybe you didn’t hear me, go away.” Kurt stated and Penny saw that he became angry.

 

“Alright Kurt, be nice.” she tried to keep him calm.

 

“Aw, I am being nice. Right little buddy?” he directed to Leonard and it infuriated Penny even more.

 

“Kurt!”

 

“Okay, I understand your impulse to try to physically intimidate me. I mean, you can’t compete with me on an intellectual level and so you’re driven to animalistic puffery.” Leonard started and Penny had to stifle a laugh, especially at his reaction.

 

“Are you calling me a puffy animal?”

 

“Of course not, no, he’s not, you’re not, right Leonard?” she managed to get out without laughing.

 

“No, I said animalistic. Of course we’re all animals, but some of us have climbed a little higher on the evolutionary tree.”

 

“If he understands that, you’re in trouble.” Sheldon said to Leonard.

 

“So what, I’m unevolved?”

 

“You’re in trouble.“

 

“You know, you use a lot of big words for such a little dwarf.” Penny could see that Kurt became really angry.

 

“I’m not a dwarf, I’m a Hobbit. A Hobbit. Are misfiring neurons in your hippocampus preventing the conversion from short-term to long-term memory?”

 

“Okay, now you’re starting to make me mad.“

 

“A homo habilis discovering his opposable thumbs says what?”

 

“What?”

 

“I think I’ve made my point.” Leonard stated and Penny had a hard time keeping her amusement inside.

 

“Yeah, how about I make a point out of your pointy little head.” Kurt said and lifted Leonard up. “This time there isn't a bouncer here to save you.”

 

“No, but he's only a phone call away and I know where you live.”

 

“Kurt, put him down this instant.” Penny ordered, not wanting this to go out of hand. She still was amazed by Leonard's guts to stand up to her ex. Kurt dropped him and stomped outside and up the stairs. Leonard looked at Penny with sad eyes, turned around started to go.

 

“Leonard, are you okay.” Penny asked before he could leave.

 

“Yeah, no, I’m fine. It’s good, it’s a good party, thanks for having us, it’s just getting a little late so….” he replied sadly.

 

“Oh, okay, alright, well thank you for coming.” she said and her heart broke a little when she saw him leaving.

 

 

“What was that all about?” Cheryl asked Penny after Leonard was gone.

 

“Kurt was his usual asshole self again.” she replied curtly.

 

“And what about your bed buddy?”

 

Penny's head flew around, checking if anyone, especially Raj or Howard had heard this. Seeing that nobody paid any attention, she turned back to Cheryl.

 

“Keep it down, will you? Nobody is supposed to know.”

 

“Then do a better job of hiding it.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Every time you're around him, you gravitate to him like a moth to a flame. And you always make eye contact with him and when you do, you always smile. Like you do now, I bet you're thinking about him.”

 

“Shut up!”

 

“Penny, go talk to him. He looked devastated.”

 

Penny sighed and had to admit that Cheryl was right. She should talk to him. She made her way to his apartment, knocked and opened the door without waiting for an answer. She found Leonard sitting on the couch, head down. Upon her entering, he looked up.

 

“Hey Leonard.” she greeted him quietly.

 

“Hi Penny.” he smiled back but she could see it was forced.

 

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

 

“I’m fine.“

 

“I’m so sorry about what happened.” she said and sat down next to him.

 

“It’s not your fault.” Typical of him, always sheltering her from responsibility.

 

“Yes it is. That’s one more reason I broke up with him, he always does stuff like that.“

 

“So why was he at your party?” Leonard asked quietly, going right to the crux of the problem.

 

“Well, I ran into him last week.” Penny started “And, he was... just, all apologetic, about how he’s changed, he was just going on and on and I believed him, and I’m an idiot because I always believe guys like that and… I can’t go back to my party because he’s there, and I know you don’t want to hear this and I’m upset and I’m really drunk and I just want to…” Penny said and burst into tears. She put her head on Leonard's shoulder and her arms around his waist and simply cried. She felt Leonard put his arms around her.

 

“God, what is wrong with me.” she asked rhetorically.

 

“Nothing, you’re perfect.” Leave it to Leonard to try to make her feel better.

 

“I’m not perfect.” she countered.

 

“Yes you are.” he confirmed.

 

“You really think so, don’t you?” she asked after lifting her head. She saw him nod.

 

She grabbed his head and kissed him. As soon as she felt him kiss back, she swung her right leg around him and straddled his waist. Putting one hand around his shoulders, she put her other into his hair and played with his curls. She let her tongue glide over his lower lip and he accepted the invitation, opening his mouth and letting her in. Their tongues explored each others mouths and when Leonard moved his hands to her butt, he couldn't stop a moan escaping her throat. That sound brought Leonard back to reality and he stopped.

 

“Penny?”

 

“Yeah.“

 

“We can't do that here.”

 

“Why not?” she asked, still grinding her hips to his.

 

“You have a party going, people will look for you. And Sheldon could come in here any moment, he's changing out of his costume in his bedroom.

 

“Boy, you’re really smart.” she sighed, knowing he was right. Although she really wanted to continue this.

 

“Yeah, I’m a frickin’ genius.“ he commented and made her smile.

 

“Leonard, you are so great. Why can’t all guys be like you?“

 

“Because if all guys were like me, the human race couldn’t survive.“

 

_'I know of at least one woman who would be happy to bring your children into this world.'_ Penny thought and immediately cursed the alcohol she had consumed tonight for getting such a thought into her head.

 

“I should probably go.” she stated and got up.

 

“Probably.” Leonard said and walked her to the door. She opened it and stepped out, turning around again.

 

“Thank you.” she told him and, after putting her arms around his neck, kissed him again. This kiss was so different than the first, not fueled by passion but somehow equally great. On her way back to her apartment she noticed Kurt coming down the stairs. She passed him without so much as looking at him.

 

 

Leonard flopped down on the couch after locking the door, although he was sure that Kurt wouldn't try to break in to break him for the fear of Leonard actually calling Frank. He sighed to himself and let his head fall onto the backrest. The evening had gone both good and bad. Good because Penny had taken his side in his argument against Kurt and she had actually kissed him deeply in a manner non-related to sex. Twice.

 

Well, actually only the second kiss could be seen as romantic. The first would probably have led to something much more if he hadn't stopped it, which had been a very hard thing to do. Whenever she jumped into his lap and straddled him and ground on his groin, his brain went into blank mode and the only thought available was to take her.

 

But he had refrained. Thanks to a particular loud moan from her, he started to think what would happen if someone, for example Sheldon, came into the room. He would maybe have been able to blame it on her inebriation but then again Sheldon would hold him a lecture about hygiene and especially about the insult to him about making out in his spot.

 

Leonard stood up and went into his bedroom. He took off his costume and neatly folded it away, putting the fake hobbit back feet into their box together with the ears. He thought his costume choice had been clear and only Howard's would be mistaken for something else. That was until one of Penny's friends called him a keebler elf and asked him for cookies.

 

He went into the bathroom and took a quick shower, blatantly disregarding the no-shower-after-ten-pm rule of the roommate agreement but he didn't care. After drying off, he brushed his teeth and went back into his room.

 

“Leonard!” the voice of his roommate called him before he could close the door.

 

“What?” he replied with a tired voice which he hoped would discourage Sheldon from further inquiries. No such luck of course.

 

“Did you just take a shower?”

 

“Yeah I did.”

 

“You know that's forbidden under the rules of the roommate agreement, don't you?”

 

“I think the hygienic concerns trump the time stipulations. Especially since you too smell as if you have been sweating.”

 

Sheldon's look of horror was priceless as he smelled himself, realizing that Leonard was right. He disappeared into the bathroom himself and Leonard had to grin when he heard the shower running. That was a premiere. Sheldon breaking a rule in the roommate agreement that he himself devised. But Leonard would always break this particular rule if he would ever come home late in the night in need of a shower.

 

Leonard got into bed, settling beneath the covers and waiting for the one thing he was sure to come. And of course, once he heard Sheldon come out of the bathroom, going into his bedroom and getting into bed, he heard the familiar knocks on the wall, Sheldon's way of saying good night in Morse code. Leonard replied the same way, knowing that Sheldon would repeat it until he got a reply. At least Sheldon tended to fall asleep after a few minutes. Finally, Leonard closed his eyes dozed off.

 

 

Penny's mood still hadn't recovered from her earlier bout of sadness and arousal. It had felt good to cry into Leonard's shoulder and hearing him tell her she was perfect only strengthened her attachment to him. Since their first night together in that motel, she knew he had deeper feelings for her than just friendship and lust. And she was sure, she felt the same for him despite the fact that her brain screamed at her every time she voiced such a thought that another relationship was too soon.

 

She had felt rejected at first, when he had stopped the kiss from going further. But she realized that he had again been right, anyone could have walked in there at any moment. So, after a a few moments to compose herself she had gone back to the party but not without giving Leonard the most intimate kiss they had had so far. The kiss hadn't been fueled by passion or the residual effect of torrid lovemaking. She had seen his face and the warmth in his eyes and she just had to connect her lips to his. And although it had only been a few seconds of contact, she knew in her heart, but not her brain, that she wanted to kiss him like that again.

 

All the time the party kept going, she felt Kurt staring sometimes at her and sometimes at the door to Leonard's place. She knew he was jealous but was sure he wouldn't try anything for fear of another visit by Frank. But his behavior earlier towards Leonard had strengthened her conviction never to get back together with him.

 

“You okay?” asked a voice from behind her. She turned around and saw her friend Kim.

 

“Yeah, just a little frustrated because of what happened earlier.” Penny replied.

 

“Because of Kurt?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Yeah well, I think the party is dying down anyway.”

 

“I'm pretty sure he won't leave until the very end. Maybe not even then, he seems to think that he's god's gift to me and I just cannot not take it.” Penny said with a hint of frustration.

 

“If you want, I can get him out of here.” Kim suggested.

 

“How?”

 

“Just watch.” Kim said and smiled.

 

“By the way, where's Cheryl?” Penny asked after looking around.

 

“While you were in the other apartment, she grabbed that Indian guy in the Thor costume and left. She mumbled something about how great a listener he is. I'm pretty sure by now she is riding his testicles into oblivion.”

 

“She left with Raj?” Penny laughed. “She'll be in for nice surprise in the morning.”

 

“Why? Is he gay?”

 

“No. But he can't speak to women.”

 

“What do you mean? He's always saying the most offensive, wrong stuff?”

 

“No, I mean he literally can't speak to women. It's some mental problem. He has never spoken when I was around, he only whispers into Howard's ear.” Penny said, still laughing.

 

“Howard? That Peter Pan guy? There's a creepy guy if I ever saw one. I have no idea where he gets his pick-up lines but none have worked on any girl here. Thomas over there was intrigued though when Howard commented how nice his boobs looked.” Kim said and pointed to a guy dressed as Madonna, which caused Penny to laugh heartily like she hadn't in a long time. She realized that during the last hour, she had sobered up a bit.

 

She and Kim chatted for a while longer before her friend went to Kurt. She whispered something into his ear and they both left a few seconds after. Penny could only shake her head. Typical. The prospect of getting into another woman's pants was enough for him to abandon any thoughts of her, which suited her just fine. Let Kim have her fun. Knowing her, he would be disappointed later when she ignored his future calls.

 

After the last guest had left, Penny started to clean up. She knew that she wouldn't been able to clean the entire apartment, especially not after midnight, but at least the foodstuff should be cleaned up. She put the snacks into boxes, emptied out the glasses and put them into her sink. She grabbed the trays of finger foods and wrapped them into saran wrap before putting them into her fridge.

 

When she went into her bedroom to get changed for bed, she stopped dead in her tracks and groaned. Why were there four people sleeping on her bed? She tried to shake Melissa awake who was closest to the foot end but had no luck. At least they were above the covers. She went into her bathroom and after brushing her teeth and removing her cat make-up, back out into the living room and collapsed on the couch after clearing a spot for her on it.

 

Suddenly a thought came into her head. Could she? Should she? Was it appropriate? But she did need a place to sleep so why not? She stopped to think about it, stood up and grabbed a blanket and the two key rings from her bowl before heading out.

 

She quietly entered apartment 4A and looked around. The lights were out and no sound could be heard which meant that both Leonard and Sheldon were probably in bed. She went to the couch and sat down. Before she could lie down completely, another wildly inappropriate thought went through her mind. This time it should be completely out of the question but why had she stood up and started to move. By the time she stopped, she stood before Leonard's bedroom. Ignoring the voice of reason in her head that told her that his whacky roommate was sleeping in the other room, she grabbed the handle and slowly opened the door.

 

 

Leonard had dozed for only an hour, not even completely asleep when a hand shook him awake. He was about to speak up when he felt a soft hand lightly pressed against his mouth. She squinted his eyes to see who it was and quickly tapped his lamp once until a soft light illuminated the immediate area around him.

 

“Penny?” he mumbled after seeing the goddess from next door standing next to his bed, still in her cat costume.

 

“Ssshhh.” was her only reply and she took her hand from his mouth.

 

“What's up?” he asked.

 

“There are four people sleeping in my bed. Can I sleep here?”

 

“Sure.” Leonard said and attempted to get up to hand her a blanket and cushion for the couch. But before he could do that, she was already climbing into bed next to him.

 

“Are you still wearing your costume?” Leonard asked, seeing the black color in Penny's face.

 

“Oh yeah, I didn't change because of the people sleeping in my bed.”

 

“At least take off the false ears. Else they might chafe your skin during the night.”

 

“You're right.” she agreed and sat up, taking off her headpiece. She got back down on her side, put her arm around his stomach and her head on his chest before closing her eyes and humming in content.

 

“Mhh, this is nice.”

 

“It is.” he agreed. “I guess the party was over?”

 

“Yeah, everybody left, except those four in my bed. By the way, Cheryl took Raj.”

 

“Wait, what? Took him? Where?”

 

“Probably to her home. They are now either asleep or she's still screwing his brains out. Depends on how long he can last.”

 

“I won't comment on Raj's performance in bed.”

 

“If you had, I wouldn't have wanted to know how you got this information.” she giggled and suddenly got serious as a thought went through her mind that had bothered her for a few days.

 

“Leonard?” she continued. “I need to know something and I want you to tell me the truth.”

 

“Okay?” Leonard replied, not really knowing what she was getting at.

 

“It's about Lesley...”

 

“Penny, will you let this go, we talked about this...”

 

“Wait, hear me out. It might be just the alcohol talking but one thing stayed on my mind.” she started and hesitated for a second.

 

“What is it?” he asked her.

 

“Was she better than me?” Penny continued in an almost whisper.

 

Leonard stayed quiet for bit, thinking about how to answer a question like this. He noticed Penny staring at him with an expecting look in her eyes.

 

“Penny... I can't answer that.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because every option, each with their own outcomes, will probably end badly.” he finally said.

 

“Try me, I promise I won't get mad.”

 

“Okay.” he sighed and collected his thoughts. “Option one, I say that she was better than you. The most likely outcome would be that you jump up, yell at me what an asshole I am and you never want to see me again. The other outcome, which has miniscule chances is, that you get the desire to prove yourself better and we'd spent the most passionate night we ever had. And after that you would leave and tell me never to bother you again, after ruining me for every other woman.

 

“Option two, I say she was not better than you. The first outcome would be the less likely one, you would believe me and we'd continue as we are. The far more like outcome for his option would be you accusing me of lying to you to spare your feelings and you would storm off and probably never want to see me again.”

 

“Are there more options?” she interrupted.

 

“Yes. There is a third one. But it's the one no woman who asks a question like you wants to hear but this option is actually the truth.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Option three is when a man says “It was...different.” This is usually what a woman doesn't want to hear but everything else is a lie.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. You must know, when a man has sex with a woman and gets her to climax, it's really an ego boost for us. And despite Lesley's rather inactive manner and especially her monotone delivery, she did call me a magnificent beast.”

 

“Although it was hard for me to hear her say that, I had to agree with her.” Penny said smiling, causing Leonard so laugh lightly.

 

“Really?”

 

“Oh yes, Mister.”

 

“But to answer your question more to your satisfaction. If I had to choose to sleep with somebody between you and Lesley, I would always pick you.” Leonard said.

 

“You would?”

 

“Yes. Not to sound mean to her, you're superior in every way.”

 

“Really? How? I want details. Lots of details. I want my ego stroked.”

 

“I could stroke something else, you know.”

 

“Sweetie, all in good time. For now, focus!” Penny ordered.

 

“Okay, well, you have a much more beautiful face. Amazing breasts. And you're so tight, every time I entered you I never really want to pull it out again. Plus, you are a really nice person. You're warm, sweet and caring. Unlike Lesley, who's analytical, detached and can be pretty mean.”

 

“You say the sweetest things to a girl.” Penny said and snuggled deeper into his embrace.

 

They lay there for a few minutes in silence, just enjoying each others presence before Penny had another thought.

 

“Leonard? Do you know how long it has been since we had sex?”

 

“Three weeks and four days.” came the prompt reply.

 

“You kept count?”

 

“Yes.” he sighed. “I miss it.”

 

“I miss it too. But you know, we're here, alone in a bed.” she said suggestively.

 

“Don't torture me. I would love to do you right here and now but Sheldon is in the next room and we share a wall. And although he falls asleep pretty fast, he's like a Chihuahua. He wakes up when a flea sneezes.”

 

“We can be quiet, you know.”

 

“Oh, I know. Well, I actually don't know. So far, we both haven't the best track record when it comes to holding back sounds. But even if we manage to keep quiet, he'd hear the bed springs squeak and he'd definitely hear the bedframe hitting the wall.”

 

“Leonard?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Are you able to do it in non-harmonic oscillation?”

 

“Did you just say non-harmonic oscillation?” Leonard asked with a shocked expression on his face.

 

“Yes, I did. Why?”

 

“That was so hot. And yes, I could do that. Hopefully.”

 

All that talk about sex had made Penny increasingly horny. She felt the heat pooling in her core, his hands stroking her butt doing nothing to lessen that feeling. She got completely on top of him, her hips grinding into his noticeable erection, while her lips covered his. The kiss quickly became passionate, her tongue grazing his lower lip, begging for entrance which was promptly granted.

 

Their tongs swirled around each other, going back and forth between their mouths. Leonard started stroking her back with his hands, occasionally letting them wander down and either squeezing her ass or pressing her harder against his groin or going between her legs, which caused both of them to groan before they remembered that they had to be quiet.

 

“Leonard?” Penny panted after stopping the kiss.

 

“What is it?” he said a little worried after seeing her red face.

 

“I kind of have a request to make.” she said and blushed even more.

 

“Wait, what did I tell you about and asking me for favors when we're in bed?”

 

“Oh, nothing like that. It's just...”

 

“What?”

 

“Um... wow, this is embarrassing to ask for.”

 

“Come on, spit it out.” Leonard grinned when he saw her blushing even more if that was possible.

 

“You're amazing at it so, um... could you... uh...you know... lick me again?” Penny finally managed to stammer out and frowned when Leonard started to softly laugh. “What's so funny? Stop laughing, that was embarrassing!”

 

“Penny.” Leonard said and kissed her once more. “You don't really have to ask for that. Just bring your naked hips to my face or push my head down and I'll get the hint.”

 

“Okay.” was her simple reply and she stood up in his bed. She slowly took off costume skirt and her panties and threw both pieces of clothing to the side before stepping forward until she ended up with her feet left and right of his head. She could tell it had the desired effect when she saw his eyes widen. The day before, she had gotten a bikini wax after work in hope that this night would end like it now seemed to be.

 

“Like what you see?” she asked.

 

“Oh yes!” he hissed in reply.

 

Without the need for further dialog she bend her knees and sunk down slowly, the anticipation inside her flaring brighter with every inch. Finally she was down and his tongue started swirling around her nub, which made her eyes roll back. Conscious about the fact that they had to be quiet, she voiced her pleasure by way of loud breathing which to an outsider sounded like wheezing.

 

His ministrations made her insides flutter, especially when he alternated his tongue movements with sucking on her clitoris. She had to clamp her hand over her mouth to stop her from moaning loudly but it was becoming harder and harder to prevent. She knew that if they were in her apartment right now, she would already be yelling for him to lick her rougher, faster, to push his tongue in deeper and she'd maybe broken his jaw by now.

 

After eight minutes in heaven. her first orgasm washed over her. She had to grip the headrest of the bed hard and her knuckles became white from the pressure she exerted just to keep her from screaming out. She was about to lift herself up but Leonard had a different idea. He grabbed her by the thighs and pulled her down again, raking his teeth softly over her clitoris before swirling his tongue around her labia and pushing his tongue inside her.

 

She didn't know if they were doing this for minutes or hours and she didn't care. Right now, the world consisted of her, him, the room and the orgasms that continued to rip through her and that she had to ride out in silence. Everything else was simply not there. If she had to choose a position to maintain for eternity, this was very high on the list. Suddenly she felt pressure on the underside on her thighs and herself being lifted. She looked down at his face, his swollen lips and knew that her face must have the same flushed look as his.

 

“Why did you stop?” she panted and startled at her voice. It was high pitched and sounded like a mouse was trying to talk.

 

“You were moving too rhythmically, the bed started to squeak.” he replied.

 

“Sorry.” she said, collapsed backwards and tried to regain her breath. She knew that he had a talented tongue but this time it had been even better even though she had to be quiet.

 

“My turn now.” he grinned and she lifted her head to look at him. She shivered when he blew air against her moist and still throbbing center.

 

“Stop it, that tickles. And your turn for what?” she asked innocently and grinned at him, knowing exactly what he meant.

 

“Funny. Now get going.” he ordered and his assertive side made her hot all over again.

 

She turned onto her stomach and crawled under the covers. She pushed his boxers down and snorted with laughter when his erection hit her on the chin after being freed. She threw his underwear on the floor next to hers and didn't waste anytime before taking his already rock hard manhood into her mouth, which caused him to breath in audibly.

 

She had to be careful not suck on him too hard. The last thing she wanted was for him to come to early. Unlike her, he needed a while to get ready again. She opted for a measured pace, her head slowly bobbing up and down. On the spur of a moment, she pushed down to the base, simply to see if it was possible for her to take him in completely. She managed it, barely and had to take it out again when she felt the gag reflex becoming overwhelming after the tip had touched her throat before doing it several more times, each time holding it longer down.

 

Leonard didn't stay passive for long. After the initial shock of contact and her deep-throating him, he needed to do something to repay her for that. He grabbed her legs that were to the left of him, pulled her right one to the other side of his head and her hips closer to his face. As soon as his tongue came back into contact with her core, he felt her stiffen but soon they reached a harmonic rhythm. He felt Penny starting to grind herself on his face again but this time her position didn't cause the bed to move with them. Not a minute later, he felt her spasm and she gave a throaty scream of pleasure with her lips still closed around his manhood. She took it out of her mouth and turned around on him to cover his lips with her own.

 

“You're mean, you know that?” she asked him between kisses.

 

“Why?”

 

“I came five times already tonight. Do you know how hard is it not to scream? I want to scream Leonard. I want to feel your tongue moving inside me and scream out your name when you make me come.”

 

“Does that mean you're done?” he asked her, hoping the answer would be a no.

 

“Are you crazy? You're not done and I want more.”

 

Still on top of him, she grabbed between them and directed his manhood to her opening before pushing down. She stayed still for a moment, getting used to him before taking off her costume top and bra, revealing her glorious breasts and peaked nipples to him. He sat up and crashed his mouth on her left breast, his tongue swirling on her areola and his teeth nibbling on her nipple. All she could do to prevent her moaning loud was pressing his head harder into her.

 

She pushed him off her and removed his shirt in a swift motion before pushing him down and lying down in his chest. She saw his questioning look.

 

“We can't be rhythmical, remember?” she asked and saw that he understood.

 

Fighting every urge inside her to simple ride him like crazy and bouncing up and down on him, she ground her hips around, the motion making the bed creak once in a while but never in that regular interval that would reveal their activity. If Sheldon asked about that in the morning, Leonard could just claim to have had a fitful sleep. The movement of his manhood inside her felt so good but the slow speed never brought her over the edge.

 

During the entire time, she kept her lips on his. She told herself that it was to swallow any moans escaping her throat but deep down she knew it was really because it felt so great and it massively enhanced her experience. This wasn't just sex, this was making love. On some level, this level of intimacy freaked her out but for the most part, she didn't care. This was what she had always wanted.

 

Leonard grabbed her hips and lifted her off him, putting her down on her stomach. He moved aside and sat up which made her turn on her side and look at him curiously.

 

“Where are you going?” she asked him.

 

“Nowhere. Get back on you stomach.”

 

Penny did as she was told. Take-charge Leonard was so frickin' hot, it was unbelievable. She giggled in anticipation because she knew Leonard planned to do what he had started to call GSS. When she had asked him what that meant, he had told her that it was the three letter abbreviation for G-Spot Sex. A number of position he had googled that stimulated a woman's most sensitive spot during intercourse. When he had done that to her the first time, she had ended up as a quivering mess of sated flesh, unable to stop moaning his name even minutes after he had finished while he had watched her with a satisfied grin, which had infuriated her so much that she had punished him by making him do the exact same thing again an hour later, which hadn't been a punishment at all.

 

Leonard lay down on her back and entered her, pushing in to the hilt. He unrhythmically pushed in and out, making sure the bed didn't squeak or banged against the wall. Every time he was completely in, his tip scraped over her g-spot, making her moan into his cushion. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling, her body twitching in the occasional mini orgasm, never quite falling over the edge completely.

 

Leonard's position on her allowed him to nibble at her earlobes or nick at her neck. Of all the nights they had together already, this ranked in the top three. She turned her head to the left, saw the glowing blue lights of his alarm clock and her eyes went wide with surprise. They had been in this position for almost half an hour. When Leonard suddenly pushed in hard and hit her spot again, she shouted into his pillow again. She couldn't take it anymore. She needed friction and fast movement.

 

“Leonard, get up.” she ordered and he complied.

 

“What's going on?” he asked and she could the the confused look on his face.

 

“I need to go faster, this slow pace is driving me crazy. Sit down on your foot step.

 

He did as she asked and sat down on the foot step in front of his bed. She stepped in front of him and spread his legs while pushing his upper body backwards a bit. She then turned around and sat down on him, her closed legs causing sweet friction and after a few soft bounces she smiled brightly.

 

“Mhhhh, Leonard? We have found another GSS.” she purred and started bouncing harder. He wrapped his arms around her and grabbed her breast, squeezing them and flicking his fingers over her hard nipples. She had to fight hard against the urge to moan loudly while she moved up and down. Her position on him allowed her to prevent the telltale slap of skin on skin and the foot step was sturdy enough not to make a sound despite her rocking into him in fast intervals.

 

Her fight to prevent moaning became even harder when one of Leonard's hands went between her legs to rub her in synch with her movements. She attempted to swat it away but ended up pressing it even harder onto her, it felt too good to do anything else.

 

“Penny, I'm almost...” he started but she interrupted him.

 

“I will be there with you. Come for me baby.” she managed to say in a voice that was almost unrecognizable to her.

 

When Leonard felt her movements beginning to get erratic, he redoubled his efforts with his hand on her clitoris. He felt her inner walls clench and knew she was almost there. He grabbed around her shoulder and held her down hard while at the same time he pushed his hips up. Penny got the idea and stopped bouncing, her only movement a rapid gyration on his manhood, which caused it to constantly stimulate her g-spot.

 

Suddenly she started twitching hard. He rubbed her clitoris even harder while she came, prolonging her orgasm even further while making it harder to stay quiet. She dropped her head backwards onto his shoulder and grabbed his chin, pulling his head around and kissed him hard. While their tongues fought another battle, she screamed into his mouth while her whole body shook.

 

The sensation of her inner walls pulsing and clenching tight around him combined with the knowledge that he, Leonard, was responsible for that made him come as well. He groaned into her mouth the same way she did into his and rode out his orgasm, feeling his seed spilling deep inside her. They collapsed backwards, their backs on the foot of the bed and their tongues still battling. They continued just kissing for another five minutes, Penny still experiencing frequent aftershocks.

 

“Mmmmhhhh.” she moaned after their lips separated. “If that awaits me after three weeks of waiting, I'm almost tempted to make this a monthly thing.” she grinned at him.

 

“How about weekly?” he suggested and made her lough.

 

“Getting needy, aren't we, Mister Hofstadter.”

 

“It's Doctor. And I don't see you complaining.”

 

“How about we make this a daily thing?” she asked with a smile.

 

“As enticing as that suggestion is, I don't think we can pull this off. Not without Sheldon getting suspicious about my frequent visits.”

 

“Too bad. Then we will have to find these stolen moments together.”

 

“I'm sure that won't be a problem. I could still bring over your mail.” he said and winked at her.

 

“There's an idea. Or you could just come over.”

 

“For a quickie? No problem. For something like what we did just now, we will need a better plan.”

 

“Oh, we will figure something out.” Penny said and sat up, immediately missing the connection. She grabbed some tissues of his and cleaned herself up, handing him the box after she was finished. As Leonard cleaned himself up and put his boxers back on, she rummaged through his closet to find something to wear tonight. She took a blue shirt of his and put it on, foregoing any underwear.

 

“Wow.” Leonard said after she had closed the closet.

 

“What?”

 

“You look so hot in my shirt. Better than me.” she said and beckoned her over. She hurried into his bed and put her arm around his body and her head on his chest, a position she had come to love after their lovemaking. Listening to his soothing heartbeat, she suddenly felt very tired, the party stress and the confrontation with Kurt finally taking its toll.

 

“We need to figure out what to say to Sheldon tomorrow.” Leonard said through the fog of consciousness.

 

“Why? We we re quiet enough.”

 

“Yeah, but he'll get up at 6:30 in the morning to watch the Doctor Who marathon on BBC. And when you exit my bedroom, it could get weird.”

 

“Sweetie? Lets figure that out tomorrow.” Penny said and promptly fell asleep.

 

 

Leonard looked down and Penny. Her soft snores told her she had already fallen asleep. He looked at the woman who had allowed him to make love to her once more. She was the most beautiful creature on the planet and she was in his arms. Her face was still flushed with satisfaction, that glow he knew was on his face too. He grinned as he thought back. He did this. His efforts made her look like that.

 

He knew he felt more than mere lust and attraction for her. But he couldn't voice it for fear of chasing her away. He had seen her trepidation today when he had interrupted her conversation with Kurt. She was still emotionally hurting. He hoped that one day she would be willing to let him in. He would never ever hurt her on purpose.

 

“I love you Penny.” he whispered and closed his eyes. He fell asleep a few seconds later, his body exhausted after their carnal activity.

 

He didn't see Penny's face when a smile broke on it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, from this chapter on, I won't apologize for the length anymore. I can't help it, every time I finish a chapter, they have gotten longer than I expected :D
> 
> Disclaimer: is the same as usual
> 
> Enjoy :)

Penny stood in the terminal of the airport, waiting. Her friend's flight had landed a few minutes earlier, so she should be retrieving her luggage by now. Penny again wondered how she had been roped into his. She didn't even like Christie that much but still she allowed her to visit and even stay at her apartment until she found a more permanent place to stay.

"Penny!" a female voice shouted at her. Sure enough, a perky blond with her green top and short pants half walked, half ran towards her with a trolley in tow. Penny could only shake her head.

"Christie." she called back and accepted the hug her friend was offering her. Christie had dressed as slutty as Penny remembered, several male heads had already turned while she was running towards Penny, a lot of pairs of eyes watching every movement of Christie's legs and breasts. Several teenagers were almost drooling at the sight and Penny had to stifle a laugh.

"Oh Penny, it's so great to finally see you again. The guys are so cute here and the weather here is so great too."

"Yeah, of course." Penny replied and shook her head again. Leave it to Christie to recognize the men as the first thing after her arrival. This would be a long drive. They loaded Christie's luggage into her car and started their drive to her place.

"So, Christie." Penny started. "How are things in Omaha?"

"Well, as good as you can expect. It has become tougher since a lot of the guys have moved away to go to college. I almost had a weekend without a date, if you can believe that. And two weeks ago, I was going out with his cute guy and after taking him home I finally recognized his tattoo. Turns out, I had already gone out with him two years ago. It was so weird that he hadn't said anything. And last week, I was out with another guy..."

If Penny shook her head some more, she was sure it would fall off her neck. She always knew that Christie was a slut but apparently she had already gone through all the guys in Omaha and was starting over. Penny was no innocent flower by any means but compared to Christie, she was a nun. She zoned out the rest that Christie said after she started recounting minute by minute the threesome she had two days ago and concentrated on the traffic. Yep, this was going to be a long drive.

* * *

 

“Oh, and remember Bill? He's married now. But I only learned about that after I slept with him. Believe it or not, I only saw the wedding ring after I got out of the bathroom. Then his wife calls me and tells me I'm a slut. Can you believe that? That guy, who is married, has no problem sleeping with me and I'm the slut?” Christie told her while she put another one of her thongs into the bathroom sink and rubbed some stain out and Penny felt it wise enough not to ask where that stain came from or what it was.

“And then there David. He promised me the sky as to how big he is and how he's going to rock my world and then he's done in two minutes. I barely had time to start feeling good and then he's done. And don't get me started on Marcus. That was a surprise if I ever saw one. I never thought someone pudgy with glasses, a high IQ and receding hair could be so good in bed. He wasn't even that well endowed. Yet he did me an hour and left me a like puddle of goo. But strangely enough, he ignores me now. He ignores me! I'm almost tempted to walk into his home and ride him to death for this...”

Penny groaned inwardly. Christie was telling her about every guy in Omaha. She didn't even know most of them. The last part was a little interesting because the description of the last guy came close to Leonard.

Leonard. Thinking of him made her smile. The man she was always looking forward to spending time with. Especially naked time. During the two weeks after their Halloween encounter they had managed to have two quickies when Leonard “brought her the mail” and one more hour long love fest when Leonard had faked being sick and Sheldon spent his evening at the comic book store to avoid him. That night he had given her eight orgasms in sixty-two minutes of both foreplay and actual intercourse and left her a sated mess of flesh again. She fell asleep that night with a smile on her face that hadn't left yet in the morning.

“Listen Christie, can you pass some time alone? I have to go to my neighbors for a bit.” Penny interrupted Christie's rant about the pudgy lover.

“Sure. I'll read some or watch TV after I'm done here.”

“Okay.” Penny replied and left. She was in such a hurry to get away, she didn't even completely close her door. She stood in front of 4A and knocked.

* * *

“Hey Penny, come on in.” a cheerful Leonard said to her after he opened the door.

“Hey guys.” she said to the group after entering.

“See a Penny, pick her up, and all the day you’ll have good luck.” came from Howard, another creepy line that made her roll her eyes.

“No you won’t.” she told him. “Uh, can I hide out here for a while?” she asked, directing the last part to Leonard.

“Sure. What’s going on.” he replied.

“Well, there’s this girl I know from back in Nebraska, Christie, well anyway she called me up and she’s like “Hey, how’s California,” and I’m like “Awesome” ‘cos, you know, it’s not Nebraska, and the next thing I know she’s invited herself out here to stay with me.“

“8:08.” Sheldon stated, making Penny wonder, what was so important about the time.

“Anyway.” she continued. “She got here today, and she’s just been in my apartment, yakkety-yakking about every guy she’s slept with in Omaha, which is basically every guy in Omaha, and washing the sluttiest collection of underwear you have ever seen in my bathroom sink.”

“Well, is she doing it one thong at a time, or does she just throw it all in, like some sort of erotic bouillabaisse.” Howard asked in his usual creepy way and Penny thought he looked like someone who was about to have a spontaneous orgasm.

“He really needs to dial it down.” she told Leonard.

“So, if you don’t like this Christie, why are you letting her stay?“

 _'Why does he always have to ask such tough questions.'_ she thought. “Well, she was engaged to my cousin while she was sleeping with my brother, so she’s kind of family.“

“You know, I apologize for my earlier outburst, who needs Halo when we can be regaled with the delightfully folksy tale of the whore of Omaha?” Sheldon said.

“Oh, I don’t think she’s a whore.” Leonard interjected.

“No, yeah she’s definitely a whore.” Penny had to agree with Sheldon. “I mean, she has absolutely no standards, this one time, she was at… where’s Howard?”

“Bonjour mademoiselle, I understand you’re new in town.“ she heard Howard's voice say from the hallway.

“Oh good grief.” came the outburst from Sheldon.

Just as Penny reached the door of Leonard's apartment, the guys behind her, her own apartment door closed. The last thing she saw was Christie and Howard kissing. Not a minute later, she could hear music playing and knew exactly what was going on in there right now. She desperately hoped that they did it at least only on her couch. She liked her bed, she didn't want to have to burn it.

“Ugh, I cannot believe Christie let Howard into my apartment.” she voiced her sorrow. She didn't want him there even when the other guys were there but the thought of a naked Howard defiling her sanctuary, her private place, made her almost gag.

“And I cannot believe people pay for horoscopes but on a more serious note it’s 8:13 and we’re still not playing Halo.“ Sheldon said and Penny had to roll her eyes again. Sheldon should start to acknowledge that other people had problems too.

“Okay, fine, we’ll just play one on one until he gets back.“ Leonard said and the group went back into the apartment.

“One on one? We don’t play one on one, we play teams, not one on one. One on one!”

“Well the only way we can play teams at this point is if we cut Raj in half.”

“Oh, sure, cut the foreigner in half, there’s a billion more where he came from.“ Raj commented offended and Penny was wondering why he suddenly talked. Maybe he had forgotten her presence.

“Hey, if you guys need a fourth, I’ll play.” she suggested.

“Great idea.” Leonard said and Penny gave him a big smile.

“Uh, no.” Sheldon stated. “The wheel was a great idea. Relativity was a great idea. This is a notion, and a rather sucky one at that.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Why? Oh, Penny, Penny, Penny.” came the condescending reply.

“Oh, what, what, what?” Damn, if she let him off the hook that easy.

“This is a complex battle simulation with a steep learning curve, there are myriad weapons, vehicles and strategies to master, not to mention an extremely intricate back-story.”

Penny had zoned out again after hearing the words 'learning curve' and picked up one of the controllers. She sat down on the couch and did some test moves with the character she was controlling. Okay, movement was easy. The directional pad controlled movement, the right stick the targeting reticule. One button fired the weapon, another reloaded, a third changed the selected weapon. She saw another character standing in front of her, moved the reticule over its head and hit the fire button. She was rewarded with a dropping enemy.

“Oh cool, whose head did I just blow off?“ she asked excitedly.

“Mine.” Sheldon stated.

“Okay, I got this, lock and load boys.” she said and kept playing. She heard Leonard and Sheldon say something to each other and saw Sheldon's character standing to the right of her again. She carefully targeted and fired. “Ha-ha, there goes your head again.”

“Okay, this isn’t at all good sportsmanship to shoot somebody who’s just respawned, you need to give them a chance to...” he started. During his short speech, his character had come back into the game and she promptly shot him again. “Now come on!” he shouted and finally took the controller to play.

She had to admit, this was fun. After killing Sheldon three more times, she more felt than saw Leonard coming around the couch and sitting down next to her. Unconsciously, her whole body shifted towards his until their legs were touching. Almost automatically, she and Leonard became one team while Raj and Sheldon became their adversaries.

She noticed how well he and her played together. Sheldon constantly yelled at Raj to do this or that, while the poor Indian couldn't answer because of her presence in the room. It seemed he had finally caught on that she was there. In contrast, hers and Leonard's movements were completely in synch, providing cover for each other without the need of any verbal communication. She mostly pushed her leg against his and almost telepathically he knew exactly what she wanted him to do.

During their current round, she had killed Sheldon eight times and Raj two times. Now she was hunting him through the ruins of the city they played in. She saw him running into an alley that she knew was a dead end and his character turned around.

“Raj, Raj, she’s got me cornered, cover me.” Sheldon ordered Raj.

“Cover this, suckers.” she shouted and switched to her flamethrower before dousing Sheldon's character in liquid fire and laughing in delight.

“Penny, you are on fire.” Leonard commented.

“Yeah, so is Sheldon.“ she replied, still laughing.

“Okay, that’s it.” Sheldon said and threw his controller on the table. “I don’t know how, but she is cheating. No-one can be that attractive and be this skilled at a video game.“

 _'Wow, that was almost a compliment.'_ she thought and saw Sheldon walk away. “Wait, wait, Sheldon, come back, you forgot something.”

“What?” he turned around while Penny switched her armament to a plasma grenade.

“This plasma grenade.” she said and threw it at the feet of his character that promptly exploded into pieces. “Ha! Look, it’s raining you!“

“You laugh now, you just wait until you need tech support.” Sheldon whined and ran off.

“Gosh, he’s kind of a sore loser, isn’t he?”

“Well, to be fair, he is also a rather unpleasant winner.“

“Well, it’s been fun.” she stated and got up. That really had been fun. And while she wouldn't mind staying here with Leonard, the fact that Raj and Sheldon were here put the brakes on anything that could happen between them.

“You know, Penny, we make such a good team, maybe we could enter a couple of Halo tournaments sometime.” Leonard said as he followed her to the door.

 _'Yeah sweetie, we make an amazing team. Nobody can really do to me what you can. But not in regards to video games. And I highly doubt that there is a tournament for what I want to do with you.'_ she thought. “Or we could just have a life.” she voiced instead.

“I guess for you that’s an option.” he answered and Penny saw the disappointment in him. She didn't know why he always sold himself short like that. He was such a great guy and she had spent a lot of time imagining how his life could go, and it mostly involved her. Those thoughts still freaked her out, although she didn't know exactly why.

“Good night, Leonard.” she said to him and almost gave him a good night kiss.

“Good night.” he replied.

“As usual, nice talking to you Raj.” she shouted to the Indian and closed the door behind her, smiling big. She loved screwing with Raj. At least now she knew now how his voice sounded.

* * *

She went into her apartment and looked around. She saw the two wineglasses on the table and remembered that her friend Christie was here, along with Howard.

“Oh baby, you have such talented lips and hands.” she heard his voice shout from her bedroom and knew what she was doing to him right now. It made her gag to think that they did it on her bed. She would have to burn the sheets and steam clean the mattress and bedframe before she could use it again without imagining lying in some of Howard's body fluids. She decided to go back to Leonard's place. No way was she spending the night here on her couch.

“Okay, I have a problem.” she said as soon as she entered.

“It’s called carpal tunnel syndrome, and quite frankly you deserve it.” Sheldon replied, still miffed about his loss.

“What’s wrong?” Leonard asked.

“Um, well, Howard and Christie are… kind of… hooking up in my bedroom.“ she said and suppressed a shiver.

“Are you sure?”

“Look, I grew up on a farm, okay? From what I heard they’re either having sex or Howard’s caught in a milking machine. Do you mind if I stay here tonight?”

“No, take the couch” Leonard said and mouthed 'Or my bed' which made her all hot again. Only Sheldon's disgusted face stopped her from jumping him right now.

“Uh, the couch is good.” she managed to stammer.

“Hold that thought, Leonard, a moment.” Sheldon said and Leonard went over to him. They discussed for a bit, her feelings for Sheldon again going on the anger side at his apparent lack of hospitality. They had been talking in low tones for about two minutes when Leonard turned around again.

“Penny, if you promise not to chew the flesh off our bones while we sleep, you can stay.“

“Huh.. what?” she was confused. What the hell was he talking about?

“He’s engaging in reductio-ad-absurdum.” Sheldon began and Penny immediately zoned out. “It’s the logical fallacy of extending someone’s argument to ridiculous proportions and then criticizing the result, and I do not appreciate it.”

“I’ll get you a blanket and a pillow.“ Leonard said and walked into his bedroom to retrieve the items.

“Okay, well since I’m obviously being ignored here, let’s go over the morning schedule, I use the bathroom from 7 to 7:20, plan your ablutions and bodily functions accordingly.” Sheldon ordered.

“How am I supposed to plan my bodily functions?” she asked and wondered if he was serious.

“I suggest no liquids after 11pm.“ Yeah, he was serious.

“Here you go.” Leonard said after he came back with a pillow and a blanket.

“Thanks Leonard.” Penny offered him the bright smile that she had begun to reserve only for him and started to arrange the available pillows.

“Hmmph, wrong.“ she heard Sheldon say.

“I’m listening.” Penny replied exasperated.

“Your head goes on the other end.”

“Why?”

“It’s culturally universal, a bed, even a temporary bed, is always oriented with the headboard away from the door. It serves the ancient imperative of protecting oneself against marauders.”

“I’ll risk it.”

“Hm.“

“Anything else I should know.” she asked and hoped the answer was no.

“Yes. If you use my toothbrush I’ll jump out that window. Please don’t come to my funeral. Have a good night. Tonight I will also enjoy my bimonthly movie evening with the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings. Tonight it's The Two Towers. Leonard, as always in deference to your need for sleep I will use my headphones. Please refrain from disturbing me by coming into my room or hammering against the wall.” Sheldon said and left the living room.

“Sorry about that.” Leonard said apologetically.

“That’s okay.“

“FYI, his toothbrush is the red one in the plexiglass case under the UV light.“

“Got it.”

“Well, sleep tight.” Leonard turned and walked away, turning off the living room light as he went.

“Thanks.“ she whispered and watched him as he turned the corner to his bedroom. She remembered the last time she was here, sitting on his couch and what happened later. But this time Sheldon would be awake, watching his movie, so she couldn't risk it. She turned off the table lamp and made herself comfortable on the couch. It was much more comfortable than hers. As she lay there with eyes closed, she heard soft shuffling before the sound of the apartment door closing.

She tried to ignore it but what Sheldon said but his words wouldn't let her alone. Frustrated, she sat up, threw the pillow on the other side of the couch and lay down again, closing her eyes once more. She inhaled deeply, wondering what Leonard was thinking about right now.

Suddenly she heard the shuffling of feet again. She perked up her ears, wondering if she had imagined it. Was that soft breathing she heard? She was about to sit up when a hand softly pressed on her mouth.

“Leonard?” she said through his fingers after opening her eyes and seeing him standing over her.

“Ssshhh.” came the reply, causing a deja vu back to the Halloween night, only with reversed roles.

“What is it?” she whispered.

“Get up.” he whispered back and grabbed her blanket. She did as she was told and he also grabbed the pillow, holding it both in one hand.

“What are you doing?” she asked, wondering what he was up to.

Instead of answering, he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him, tiptoeing past Sheldon's bedroom into his. As soon as his door was closed, he threw both pillow and blanket on the bed and grabbed her by the waist, connecting his lips to hers and roughly kissing her.

It took her a few seconds to respond to the kiss but as soon as she overcame her surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth, letting his tongue in. She pressed his head stronger to hers, furiously battling his tongue as it explored the insides of her mouth.

His hands wandered down to squeeze and rub her butt. Since she wore only loose sweatpants, he didn't waste any time with keeping his hands over her pants. He wiggled his fingers along the waistband of her pants and shoved his hands under them, placing his hands directly on her butt. He started to caress it, causing goosebumps on Penny's skin, all the while their lips were connected. She started moaning into his mouth and felt him smile against her lips.

“You like having that control over me, don't you?” she asked seductively as their lips parted. His hands were still caressing and squeezing her butt.

“Oh you bet.” he grinned back and took his hands out of her pants, a move that she immediately disliked. He didn't say anything, instead he grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it off her body, revealing her lace bra. “Are you always wearing a lace bra under a sweatshirt?”

“Only when you pull it off me.” she smiled at him and reconnected their lips. His right hand stayed between their upper bodies, stroking her left breast under her bra, his fingers flicking over her nipples and feeling them getting hard.

Suddenly, he grabbed her around the waist again, turned them around and more or less threw her on his bed. She looked at him with a mixture of arousal and surprise as he quickly pulled off her pants and panties in one move. She could only giggle as his facial expression when she was lying there only in her bra.

“You have way too many clothes on.” she told him and he smiled back.

“All in good time, sweetheart. First I want to drink in this view.” he said looked at her with eyes almost completely black with arousal.

“Maybe you like this view even more.” she said and spread her legs. Ever since the Halloween party, she kept waxing her legs and intimate area twice a week.

“Oh, that IS way better.” he said and took out his phone, quickly taking a picture, to her complete surprise. “And by the way, remember that Sheldon is currently watching a movie with earphones on, so we don't need to be completely quiet. We just need to refrain from hitting the wall and anything over low volume.”

“Oh, I can do that.” Penny stated and put her hands between her legs, running her fingers over herself and moaning at the contact.

Leonard didn't wait around to watch. He climbed on the bed and swatted her hands away before burying his head between her legs. He started licking her roughly, his tongue running hard over her nub and labia. He alternated this action with sucking on her clit, making her moan loudly. She pressed her legs together and bucked up her hips as her first orgasm washed over her, making her scream into her hand, while the other kept pressing his head harder onto her.

He let her come down by letting his tongue run softly over her labia and lightly kissing her nub. She lifted her head and saw him lifting his eyes to her before giving him the smile that she has permanently reserved only for him.

“How can anyone be so good at this?” she quietly asked.

“I'm only as good as the woman I'm with.” he answered and smiled back before returning his attention to her nub. He put his hands on the insides of her knees and spread her legs wide. Penny placed her feet on the sides of his head, thereby locking the spread without him having to hold them open, which freed his hands to play with her breasts.

She pulled the bra straps from her shoulders, allowing his hands to pull it down to her stomach so he got free access to the soft flesh of her breasts. His fingers caressed her nipples and areola and she felt them getting even harder than before. She thought about joining him but instead decided to keep pressing his head harder onto her just as the second orgasm hit her. She rode it out, managing to keep the scream in so it only escaped as a whimper. He didn't let up this time, pressing his tongue hard on her and strongly sucking on her clit.

She felt his head lift a bit but his tongue stayed in contact. She lifted her head again to look down at him and the look of his tongue extending from his mouth, running over her folds immediately made her climax the third time, the intensity making her press his head back down reflexively, enhancing the experience even more. With a last kiss to her center, he let go of her and stood up. She opened her eyes again and looked at him with a questioning look.

“Get up.” he ordered and his tone made her comply immediately.

“You're so amazingly hot when you take charge like this, you know that?” she said and took off her bra, standing completely naked in front of him.

“Yeah, I gleaned that.” he grinned at her and took the pillow he had thrown onto the bed earlier before placing it on the right side of his foot step. Penny watched as he got out of his clothes, and upon seeing his hard erection that stood out from his body she involuntarily licked her lips. He took her hand and pulled her towards the front of the bed.

“Come on. Lay down on your stomach on the foot step.”

Penny knew what he planned and immediately complied. When she was down, her head on the cushion, she felt him get behind her. He ran his hand over her folds before placing his legs next to her hips and guiding his manhood to her opening and pushing in hard, burying it to the hilt. She groaned loudly into the pillow while he let her get used to him.

After a few seconds he started to move, slow at first, enjoying the feeling of her insides once more. He heard her giggle in pleasure and smiled to himself before picking up the speed. Her giggle turned into a moan when he started hitting her g-spot again and again. She wanted to tell him that he should be mindful of the noise of their skin slapping together but first, she remembered that Sheldon was watching a movie wearing headphones and second, she was unable to say a coherent word because all she could say came out as a rhythmic moan each time he hit that sweet spot.

When he felt her insides clench, he grabbed her shoulders and used the leverage to pound even harder into her. Penny's eyes rolled back into her skull, the endorphins rushing through her body making it impossible to utter any other sounds than the moans and occasional screams into the pillow. After exactly six minutes and twenty-two seconds and four hundred and thirteen stimulations of her g-spot, she had her fourth orgasm of the night. It announced itself by a fluttering in her abdomen but soon turned into a full blown twitching of her entire body.

Leonard didn't allow her to ride it out again, instead he redoubled his efforts and pounded into her in a ferocious pace. Penny used the pillow to full effect, muffling her screams of pleasure that would surely have wakened even the neighbors. Although the feeling of pure bliss was almost unbearable in its intensity, she never ever wanted it to stop.

Once her orgasm had died down, Leonard slowed down but didn't stop. He continued to push in to the hilt and kept stimulating her g-spot every time. And even though she just had another mind-blowing orgasm courtesy of Leonard, she was surprised when he pulled out.

“Why did you stop? Don't stop! Keep going, that feels so good. Please Leonard, keep doing what you were doing.” she whined.

“Don't worry. I'm not done yet.” he panted. “Turn around, lay on your back.”

She did as she was told, again marveling at the change in Leonard when he took charge. Not to mention that she got extremely horny when he did that. When she had settled herself, he grabbed her legs and spread them apart before entering her in a swift motion and pounding away. Her hips automatically bucked upwards to meet his thrusts, enhancing the already great experience even more.

Leonard bent down and kissed her. Their tongues engaged in another furious duel again and she used the presence of this particular satisfying sound absorber to cry out her pleasure, while he had the same idea and groaned loudly. Their skin slammed together, creating the unique sound of two people engaged in what was to Penny the most beautiful thing in the world.

Ever since her first night with Leonard, she knew deep down that this would be always the primary thing she would do. An invitation to some place like a bar or a sporting event? Canceled if sex with Leonard was an option. Every time. No exception.

For another eight minutes, she was pounded into oblivion. The world around her didn't matter, the universe had shrunk to a bubble that included only her, him and the foot step. During those eight minutes, she felt Leonard getting slower for a minute or two before speeding up again to the frequency he had done for the entire duration. Penny realized that he was holding himself back.

Their rhythm was interrupted when she felt herself clench again. Her fifth orgasm was again intense, causing her to bite into Leonard's shoulder to prevent her from screaming. It was such a strong feeling that she couldn't just ride it out passively. She tensed her right leg around his waist and flipped them over, causing both to fall to the floor with Leonard under her.

Her body automatically used the freedom this position granted to wildly move back and forth on him, prolonging her orgasm before she collapsed on his chest again. She groaned loudly as she rode it out, kissing him on the lips again until she had calmed down. He was still hard inside her. How did he do that? He had asthma and the only form of sports he did was on the Wii.

“Let me finish you off. My little stallion.” she told him with a grin and sat back up. Mindful not to make too much noise she put her knees down and got ready. She moved forwards and backwards slowly at first before picking up speed. Another minute later, she was grinding wildly on him, his breathing as ragged as hers. Just as she thought she couldn't take anymore he pulled her down and she felt him stiffen before he exploded into her, spilling his seed with a mighty groan that he muffled by biting into her shoulder.

She didn't come a seventh time before he had finished but she didn't care. He had once more blown her away with his skill. She knew deep down that some day she would overcome her slight disgust for that to reciprocate his skill and use her tongue and mouth to pleasure him to orgasm. She'd never done that before and usually didn't have any notion to do that but she felt he deserved it. Truly deserved it. For everything he did for and to her.

They stayed on the floor for what felt like hours just kissing. They only stopped when Leonard felt Penny shivering.

“Penny, are you cold?” he whispered.

“Just a little. But I don't really want to move.”

“Come on, get up.” he ordered once more and she complied. While she stood there, unsure what to do now, he went to his closet and took out a box. He opened it and she had to smile when he handed her some wet wipes. She cocked her head and looked at him. “I bought them the day after your Halloween party.”

She didn't need to hear more. She grinned at the memory. There they had been, two bodies covered in the, what she always called, good kind of sweat and no real option of cleaning up since the shower was off limits due to Sheldon's presence in the other room. They had slept in each others arms but after waking up she realized that while the sweat was great after their lovemaking, it became gross to feel like that in the morning.

“Want me to go back to the couch again?” she asked. “Otherwise it could get weird in the morning.”

“No. You'd have to get dressed and I really want to sleep with your gorgeous naked body in my arms. And we can give Sheldon the same explanation we gave him after Halloween. I offered you my bed and slept on the floor so he can watch Doctor Who while sitting in his spot.” he said and climbed into bed.

He lay down on his side and pushed back the comforter. He pointed at the empty space next to him and she hurried to get into his bed. She also got on her side and molded her back to his body. He put his left arm around her waist and pulled her even closer. She interlaced her fingers with his and hummed in satisfaction.

“Good night Leonard.” she said and turned her head towards him.

“Good night Penny.” he replied and gave her a soft good night kiss before closing his eyes.

As Penny felt him fall asleep, she wondered once more how that had happened. Almost inconspicuously they started to give each other little kisses when they were alone and greeted each other or said good-bye. Or right now, a good night kiss. That small part of her brain kept telling her that this was too much like a relationship and she didn't really want a steady one right now. But in her heart she knew that no matter what happened and how she felt, one thing was clear. She never wanted to let go of Leonard. No other woman would ever be allowed to have him and no other man would be allowed to touch her. He was hers. And she was his. And strangely enough, that last thought made her smile as her eyes closed and the sweet darkness of sleep overcame her.

* * *

When Penny woke up, she was still smiling. Last night had again be an amazing love fest with a confident and take-charge Leonard that ended with her again being a mess of sated flesh. During the night, Leonard's right arm had under her neck and angled towards her chest and ended up copping a feel. Not that she minded. His other hand still rested on her stomach with her fingers still intertwined with his. The spot it rested on felt like it was on fire, that positive warmth she had come to equalize with him.

She separated her upper body from his and turned her head to his to see his open eyes and smiling face. She loosened her fingers from his and put her left hand up to cup his chin before bringing her head closer to his to plant a soft and lingering kiss on his lips.

“Good morning, sweetie.” she said and that small part of her brain screamed at her again that they had already gone as far as a good morning kiss.

“Morning.” he replied sleepily and kissed her back. He brought the hand that rested on her stomach during the night to her head and pulled her closer. The kiss quickly became more heated and his hand wandered down to her chest and further to rest between her legs. As soon as he started rubbing her, she broke the kiss to look at him curiously but not unable to prevent the soft moan escaping her mouth.

“Leonard? You did me good last night, I'm pretty worn out.” she said but still grinned.

“Really? Then why are you so wet already?” he asked with a smirk and she cursed inwardly. “And remember, Sheldon is currently in the living room.”

Saying no more, he climbed on top of her. Despite her claims that she was worn out, she almost automatically opened her legs and welcomed him in, her folds eagerly accepting his manhood as it went in and out. He put his arms under her and held her shoulders. She realized through the fog of pleasure that this position allowed him to drill her fast and hard without them rocking the bed back and forth.

His lips stayed on hers and both made good use of that to swallow the sounds the other made. She was still hypersensitive from last night, so it didn't take her long to climax. She dug her fingernails into the skin of his butt and as her insides clenched, she felt him groan and come as well. Penny could only grin like a cat into the kiss and couldn't stop a small giggle escaping her.

“What's so funny?” Leonard panted.

“Oh, nothing. I'm just a bit stunned. This is the first time we did it exclusively in the missionary position.”

“Well, it was only a short stint. Next time, more positions.” he proclaimed and extricated himself from her grasp before standing up.

“Next time, huh? Getting a little ahead of yourself, Hofstadter?” she grinned and stretched in his bed, receiving a lusty stare in return. “Down boy, you just had me.”

“Can't I have you again?” he pleaded and she could see him ready to jump back into bed.

“Not now.” she said and got up, using his wet wipes again to clean herself up before dressing herself. He took the cue and did the same. “Hey, do you think Sheldon knows what we are doing?”

“No? Why do you think that?”

“I don't know. I just remembered his comment from yesterday when he said that we should refrain from disturbing his movie by either coming into his room or hammering against the wall.”

“Huh. I don't know, he never said anything. And I think as long as he doesn't, we shouldn't mention it either.”

“Okay.” she said and gave him another kiss. “Let us face your whacky roommate.”

Coming out of the bedroom, they saw Sheldon sitting on the couch in his spot, watching a DVD of Battlestar Galactica. He looked at them with his look that was always somewhere between condescension and blank.

“Leonard? Can I infer from your walk that you slept on the floor again after inviting Penny to sleep in your bed so I can watch Doctor Who in peace?” Sheldon asked him.

“Yes.” was his only reply. He always tried to answer Sheldon's questions regarding anything about Penny with one word to prevent him from stammering and mixing up his facts.

“Very well.” Sheldon said and went back watching TV. Just then the apartment door opened and Howard strolled in.

“Ola, nerd-migos!” he greeted them.

“Are you wearing my robe?” Penny asked as she sat down on the couch, seeing the blue fabric on his body.

“Oh, yeah, sorry, I’ll have it cleaned.”

“That’s okay, keep it. Or better, burn it. Where’s Christie?”

“In the shower. Oh, by the way, where did you get that loofah mitt, yours reaches places that mine just won’t.” he asked, sitting down next to her.

“You used my loofah?”

“More precisely we used your loofah. I exfoliated her brains out!“

“You can keep that too. Or burn it.”

“Well, then we’ll probably need to talk about your stuffed bear collection.”

Penny was about to deck him. Her stuffed bears were one of her most prized possessions, ranking close after her shoes and to think they were defiled by being used in some weird sex act by Howard of all people made her want to throw heavy stuff at him.

“Howard?” she could hear Christie call from the other apartment.

“In here my lady.” Howard replied and stood up.

“Mmmm, there’s my little engine that could.” Christie said after entering the apartment. Howard made some train noises until she reached him. Penny had to swallow her bile as she saw them kissing.

“Well there’s one beloved children's book I’ll never read again.” Sheldon interjected.

“Hi, I'm Christie.” she introduced herself to Sheldon and Leonard who in turn introduced themselves to her. “Right, you’re Howard’s entourage.“ she added and Penny could see the retorts building up in both Leonard and Sheldon and quickly decided to interrupt them.

“Uh, so Christie, what are your plans?”

“Oh, well, Howard said he’d take me shopping in Beverley Hills.“ Christie replied and put her arms around Howard's shoulders.

“Yeah, no, I meant plans to find some place to live. Other than with me, not that I don’t love having you, but it’s… a little crowded.” Penny said, not wanting to live in her apartment when the chances of Christie and Howard fornicating close by was a prospect.

“Penny, you’re always welcome to stay with us.” Leonard said and smiled at her. She immediately felt heat pooling in her lower body at the thought but quickly fought it off.

“Oh, terrific, now we’re running a cute little B&B.” Sheldon commented, luckily killing the mood.

“Let me offer a little outside the box thinking here, why doesn’t Christie stay with me.” Howard said.

 _'That's a great idea. I officially like you a little bit more Howard.'_ Penny thought.

“For one thing you live with your mother.” Leonard commented.

 _'Leonard, if you don't shut up, you will never ever see this body naked again.'_ Penny thought again and tried to communicate this thought to Leonard through her eyes while Howard said that his mother lived with him and not vice versa.

“Well then, it’s all settled.” Sheldon stated. “Christie will stay with Howard, Penny can go back to her apartment, and I’ll keep watching Battlestar.

“Sheldon you just can’t dictate…” Leonard started but was interrupted by Sheldon.

“No more talking, everybody go!“

Penny watched as Howard invited Christie to his house, something she, to Penny's complete surprise, accepted, especially after finding out that Howard was officially the first Jew she slept with. As Christie hurried to Penny's apartment to pack her stuff, something that Penny had no problems with. Before Howard could leave and finally get out of her robe, both she and Leonard stopped him.

“When they perfect human cloning I’m going to order twelve of those.” Howard started before either she or Leonard could say something.

“Howard, can’t you see she’s using you?” Leonard said.

“Who cares, last night she pulled off her blouse and I wept!”

“Look, Howard.” Penny began. ”I know her, okay, she’ll have sex with anyone as long as they keep buying her things.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Yay! If you’ll excuse me, I have some Bar Mitzvah bonds to cash.“

With that Howard left and got himself dressed in her apartment. Penny waited until he was done, all the while fighting the urge to mold herself to Leonard and put his arms around her. After ten minutes, both Howard and Christie left her apartment.

“So Christie, have fun with Howard. We should go out on the weekend.”

“Yeah, I will. And why not tonight?”

“I have the late shift all week.”

“Oh, too bad. Come on Howie.” Christie said and pulled grinning Howard down the stairs.

“Lets see how she feels after meeting his mother.” Penny said and turned back to Leonard. “Can you come help me? I think I have to disinfect a large part of my apartment.”

“Sure. But I don't think Christie was that dirty.” Leonard stated and followed her out.

“It's not her. But the thought of Howard having been naked on my bed makes me kind of scared of sleeping in it without burning the sheets first. And who knows what other surface he has been naked on.”

After entering her apartment and closing the door, Leonard grabbed her and kissed her hard. Penny overcame her surprise quickly and moaned into the kiss before putting her arms around his shoulders.

“A little eager, aren't we?” she grinned at him after breaking the kiss.

“Isn't that why you asked me to come with you?” he replied, also smiling.

“Well actually no, I really want you to help me. I need to clear the sheets from my bed, my loofah and robe must go in the trash and I don't really want to touch it knowing what these items were in contact with.”

“So, you mean I have to touch all the stuff Howard was naked on?”

“Yes, pretty much.”

“Why me? I don't want to touch things I know Howard's been naked on.”

“Because you're a nice guy and if you do that for me, I'll give you more treats.” she said and slowly walked up to him, a seductive swagger in her hips.

“Please Penny, don't do this to me, you know I can't say no.”

“Do I have to take my shirt off and jiggle my breasts again?”

“Yes please.”

“Leonard, go!”

“Yes, dear.” he said in a sarcastic tone and started to take the sheets off her bed.

Penny held a garbage bag open for him to deposit the things into with visible reluctance, especially the loofah. She watched him work and smiled to herself. Although he had said it with sarcasm, the word dear made the butterflies in her stomach come back. She smiled brightly at him after he took the bag from her and he brought it into her living room.

“Anything more that's drenched in Howard's fluids that you need me to pick up?” Leonard said as he re-entered her bedroom.

“Okay, enough with the sarcasm, Mister.” she grinned at him and took off her clothes to change. She laughed as Leonard turned around and left the bedroom.

“Leonard? Come back in here right now!” she yelled and he hurried back in.

“What is it?”

“What have I told you about turning around when I change?”

“Sorry. It's a habit, if someone changes you don't look.”

“Sweetie, I like it when you watch me change. I like how you look at me, like you want to eat me.” she said and bounced slightly on her feet.

“I knew it.” he said.

“What?”

“You're jiggling your breasts again. What do you want?”

“Nothing.”

She watched his eyes grow dark with arousal as he watched her walking around naked. She blushed hard when she realized that what she had said a minute ago had a tremendous sexual innuendo and she had to fight the urge to tell him to actually eat her. She walked around and grabbed some underwear, putting on her panties slowly for his benefit before attempting to fix the arrangement of her stuffed bears. Leonard was on his way out of her bedroom again when he heard her scream.

“What now?” he asked after running back in.

“My care bears...” she whined.

“Yes, they're so creepy, as if they are watching us when we have sex here.”

“Lift one up.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

“Fine.” He did as he was told and quickly dropped it again. “Eww, why are they damp?”

“They covered my care bears in their sweat. You can't wash these without ruining them. Now I have to throw them all away.” Penny almost cried.

She finished dressing into her uniform as Leonard put her bears into another bag and then grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the apartment and into the hallway. Before leaving, she turned around once more and gave him a kiss.

“See you later sweetie.” she said and started walking down the stairs. She wondered why her brain was screaming at her once more until she realized that she had again said good-bye to him with a kiss. Shaking her head as she got into her car, she just hoped that her stupid brain could make its mind up soon. She hated the insecurity these episodes brought on.

* * *

 

Four days went by quickly, droning away in routine. Up at ten in the morning, work from noon to eight, home, dinner with the guys, bed. Well, not exactly routine. On Monday, Leonard 'brought her the mail' which again led to her wriggling under him for fifteen minutes. Now it was Wednesday and Penny was putting the finishing touches on her make-up for her evening out dancing. Kim was picking her up last, after Melissa and Lynn and she was already waiting downstairs. Before she could leave, someone knocked at her door. She opened it to find the guys minus Howard in front of it. She was Leonard's eyes widen as he saw her in her attire.

“Oh, hey guys, what’s up?” she greeted them.

“It’s Halo night.” Sheldon stated.

“Yeah. Okay. So?” Penny wondered what that had to do with her.

“Well, with Wolowitz spending all of his time with your friend Christie...“

“She’s not my friend.” Penny interrupted. “Friends do not get their friends care bears all sweaty.”

“Right, anyway, uh, with Wolowitz occupied elsewhere, we had something we wanted to ask you something. Sheldon?

“Yes.” Sheldon continues. “Penny, we would very much appreciate it if you would be the fourth member of our Halo team. I don’t think I need to tell you what an honor this is.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet. But I’m going out dancing with my girlfriends.”

“You can’t go out, it’s Halo night.“

“Well, for Penny it’s dancing night.”

“You go dancing every Wednesday.”

“No.” Penny replied, and her mood started to go south.

“Then it’s not dancing night.“ Sheldon stated matter-of-factly.

“Look, why don’t I play with you guys tomorrow?” she suggested, the idea of playing with them strangely welcome.

“Tonight is Halo night, it’s like talking to a wall.“ Sheldon said and Penny started to become angry.

“Alright, now Sheldon, you and I are about to have a problem.” she said and smiled inwardly at watching him take a step back.

“Sheldon, remember, we role-played this.” Leonard said to him.

“Yes, but you didn’t portray her as completely irrational.”

“Alright fellas, I gotta go. Good luck.” she told them and started to leave before she had to give in to the urge of hitting Sheldon. She squeezed Leonard's arm and almost kissed him good-bye again before remembering that they weren't alone. She exited the building and saw Kim standing next to her car.

“Hey girl.” Kim said, giving Penny a hug. “Lets go.”

* * *

They had been dancing for about an hour when they retreated to a table to enjoy a few drinks. So far, none of them had to buy their own, guys left and right treated the four beautiful girls in tight and revealing dresses. Penny tried to hold back a bit, her last experience in a bar with free drinks still in her mind but this time they tasted great and now she was quite buzzed.

“Hey girls.” one of the generous guys said after coming over. “How about a dance with us?”

“Sorry guy, today is girls night. No guys allowed.” Kim told him.

“Then how about going out tomorrow?” he directed his next question to Penny.

“Sorry pal, I'm taken.” she replied and the guy scuffled off to the laughter of his friends.

“Penny?” Kim asked. “I thought you were single?”

“Uh, why? What did I say?”

“Why did you say you are taken. And taken by whom?”

“Um, no one.” Penny said and blushed.

“Oh my god, it's Leonard!” she shouted and Penny blushed even more. “Oooooh, you have a thing for your neighbor that you had sex with once.”

Penny's face turned to purple, making it look as if someone strangled her. Unfortunately, since they were girls, the others picked up on the reason for her embarrassment.

“More than once? Girlfriend, I'm impressed. How often?”

“No, just once.”

“Penny, I won't stop pestering you and if you don't spill, I will call Cheryl.”

“Fine, yes, we're doing it. Happy?”

“Very. How often since you met?”

“Forty-four times.”

“Wow, you kept accurate count? You got it bad.” Kim shouted and raised her glass of water, since she was the driver. Not wanting to ruin the evening with gloomy mood, Penny went along and after a while enjoyed herself again. And why shouldn't she? She wasn't ashamed of Leonard.

“But girls, please keep this to yourselves. This is mine and Leonard's little secret.”

“Fine.”

They kept dancing and drinking the hours away but since Kim had to work the morning shift they had to leave earlier then usual and shortly after ten they were on their way to Penny's apartment block since she was closest.

“So Penny.” Kim started. “Will you grab Leonard again for another wild night?”

“For your information, we don't do it every night.” 'Although I would certainly like to.' “But they have Halo night anyway. Hey wanna see something weird? They will be so concentrated on their game, they won't even hear us even when we offer to have sex with them.”

“Seriously?” Melissa piped up.

“Don't believe that. Every guy perks up when he hears the word sex.” Kim stated.

“No, it's true.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Okay. If one of them reacts, you'll record your next “session” with Leonard. I want to know if he is really that good.”

“Are you crazy? I won't do that!”

“Ah, come on. Please.”

“No! I'm not gonna let you watch me doing it with someone, no matter who.”

“Not video. Audio is enough.”

“Pff. Fine. You won't win anyway.” Penny agreed and cursed the alcohol in her system. Why did she always get so agreeable when she was buzzed? They went into the building and Penny mentioned for them to walk quietly up the stairs as to not to alert the guys that someone was coming up. When they arrived in front of 4A, Penny steeled herself. Although she didn't mind when Leonard paid attention, this time she hoped he was too immersed into his game.

“Hi guys, my friends and I got tired of dancing, so we came over to have sex with you.” she said into the room after opening the door.

At first nobody reacted as she expected until Leonard lifted his head and winked at her before mouthing the word 'Later' and returning his attention back to the game. Penny blushed hard as Howard started shouting something about a medpack. She closed the apartment door again and hung her head as her friends giggled.

“So much for nobody paying attention.” Kim giggled.

“Shut up!” Penny said and went into her own apartment, the other girls following her. Great. Now she had to record her next nightly escapade with Leonard. She poured a glass of water for Kim and three glasses of wine and tried to enjoy the rest of the evening.

* * *

Leonard tried to fall asleep when his phone buzzed with a new message. He put on his glasses and a grin broke out on his face when he saw that was from Penny. He quickly opened it.

**Thanks to you I have lost an embarrassing bet. For once could you not have paid attention to me?**

He continued smiling when he typed in the answer. **Then you shouldn't offer yourself for sex ;)**

**Yeah Yeah. Smug bastard :-x**

**Want me to come over tomorrow?**

**Is that possible? Won't object to a quickie but would really like a repeat of either last weekend or Halloween :D**

**Well, I could increase the thermostat by two degrees, then Sheldon will throw a tantrum, I argue back and then I'll need to sleep somewhere else for the night. And you could “offer me the couch” ;)**

**That sounds like a plan**

**Can't wait. Good night sweetie :-xxx**

**Good night sweetheart**

Leonard put his phone down and settled back down. He wondered what the bet was about and what Penny had lost but he didn't care. All he knew that tomorrow, he'd show her again what he felt for her. He just hoped that it wouldn't be too long until he could voice his feelings as well.

* * *

Penny put down her phone and went directly into her bathroom to change into her pajamas and wipe off the make-up. After returning to the bedroom, she clicked on the lights and stood frozen in surprise.

Fixed in a circle on her bed were her stuffed bears, every single one of them. All were clean and smelled great. In the middle of the circle was a note. She picked it up and recognized Leonard's handwriting.

_I found a store where they specialize in cleaning uncommon items of fabric. I hope that makes you feel better. L. :-x_

She got on her bed and smiled brightly as she put the bears back into the positions they were before Christie and Howard almost ruined them.

“Ah Leonard, you're the best, I really love you.” she said to herself and her face froze in shock. Its expression hadn't changed when she fell asleep an hour later. This whole thing had become much more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the end of this particular chapter. Hope you liked it :)
> 
> Review please :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's me again :)
> 
> Here's another installment of what my dirty mind would like to see on TV :D
> 
> Enjoy :)
> 
> Disclaimer: The usual

Penny put some clean glasses and the bottle of wine on the table. Cheryl took the bottle, uncorked it and poured it in the glasses. Kim and Penny took theirs and all took a sip.

"So, what's the reason for this visit?" Penny asked the other girls.

"Well, Cheryl here got curious when I mentioned our bet." Kim answered.

"Come on, you're not really expecting me to go through with this, don't you?" Penny commented.

"Hell yeah, girl." Cheryl said. "You described your sex with Leonard to me as mind-blowing and brag about how he leaves you like a puddle of goo. And even though you are annoyingly adamant against a video recording, I still want to hear that.”

“You girls are totally perverted, you know that?”

“Ah come on.” Kim interjected. “You must have thought about recording it for yourself already. Almost everybody does that. And the fact that you're blushing tells me more than anything you could say now.”

The girls laughed as Penny took another sip and tried to force the blush out of her face. Kim was right, she had been tempted on numerous occasions to record her and Leonard's carnal adventures but didn't know if he'd be okay with it. Also, she didn't know if her cellphone camera would do the experience justice. If she did this, Penny would want to be able to see the result clearly, not some blurry picture with moaning and pleasure-screaming in the background.

“How do you think that could work like you imagine?” Penny asked. “I don't really plan sex with Leonard, it usually kind of happens spontaneously. Also, I think I might hold back if I know that there's something recording me. I certainly won't want to get up again to activate a recorder once Leonard starts to...”

“Once Leonard starts to... what? Keep talking.“ Cheryl prompted.

“Ah, nothing.”

“Penny!”

“Fine, do foreplay.” Penny said blushing.

“Uh, the anticipation gets bigger and bigger.” Kim laughed at Penny's discomfort. “Now I really want to listen to the action.”

“But to allay your concerns. Cheryl said. “I have a little device that records twenty-four hours and if not stopped, it just overwrites the already recorded things. So, I will go into your bedroom now, close the door and place it. And as soon as you did the deed, so to speak, you call me and I get it within the next few hours. This way, you don't know what it looks like and therefore can't find it. And I think we don't have to worry about you holding back. If your tales of him are true, you surely won't be able to be quiet.”

“Hey, we already did it quiet.” Penny said.

“Oh yeah? When?”

“Um... well, once after my Halloween party and another time when Christie was here and I had to sleep over there because she got busy with Howard on my bed.”

“Wait, you had sex in his room? With his roommate in the next room?” Kim asked.

“Yeah. I told you I could be quiet and he certainly can too.”

“How was it? Did the danger of detection add more spice to the sex?” Cheryl grinned.

“I don't think I need any more additions, especially when Leonard does a GSS position.”

“What the hell is a GSS position? Can that be found in the Kama Sutra or some other weird sex book?” Kim asked again and saw Penny's blush. “Come on girl, don't be silent now.”

“Fine. Leonard googled some positions that always hit the g-spot when done correctly. GSS stands for G-Spot Sex.”

“Really? Always hitting it?” Cheryl said quietly.

“Aaaalways.” Penny answered grinning and sunk back into her couch when she remembered some of the times Leonard had done her like that.

“Oh my god, I need to find that web page.” Kim interrupted her thoughts. “Just one look at your expression right now says it all.”

“Are there really that many?” Cheryl asked.Penny.

“Well, they are basically variations of one or two positions. But if you count every variation separately, then he found seven so far. And I did find an eighth one after Halloween.”

“What was it?” Kim asked.

“Lets just say, it involved the foot step in front of his bed.”

“Damn, I'm so jealous right now.” Cheryl said. “I mean, Raj was good when I took him home but you make it sound like your Leonard is the greatest lover in the world.”

Instead of answering, Penny's gaze went far away. Cheryl's words echoes in her head. _'It's true. It does sound like Leonard is the greatest lover in the world. But why? It's not like I didn't do some of those positions with other guys too and they were bigger than him. Yet none of them can compare to Leonard. Why is it so much better with him.'_

“Hello, Earth to Penny!”

“What?”

“Jeez, where were you right now?” Kim asked.

“I guess, she was naked in bed with a certain neighbor of hers.” Cheryl said laughing.

“Okay girls, that's enough talk about my sex life. I can't believe we talked about it in the first place.”

“Hey, you can't make a bet like this with Kim and not expect me to comment on that.” Cheryl replied.

“Hey a comment is one sentence,. What you do is an interrogation.” Penny said and her phone rang. She took it and stood up.

“While you answer your phone, I will plant the recorder in your bedroom. No coming in!” Cheryl said and disappeared in Penny's bedroom. Penny could only shake her head. Why must her friends be that dirty minded?

“Hello?” she said into her phone after accepting the call. “Hey Mike... Yeah, I'm still interested... What?...Sure, I can do that. When?... Really? Then I need to practice a bit... No, I have enough stuff here at home to do that... I'm sure I find someone to try them, I have two guys as neighbors and they have two friends... Great! I see you tomorrow.”

Penny hung up the phone just as Cheryl exited her bedroom and sat back down on her couch.

“Who's Mike? Wait, Mike as in Mike the manager of the Cheesecake factory?” Kim asked.

“Yeah. Remember, I asked him for a bar tending shift the other day. And he agreed to let me try. I just need to practice mixing drinks. You want to be my tasters?”

“Ah, we'd rather not. We have something against getting poisoned.”

“Haha, very funny. Fine, I just ask the guys.”

“Well, if you go over there in that outfit, I know of one of them who will absolutely say yes to anything you ask him. And if he's the only one, you can make that recording today.” Cheryl said grinning.

Penny made a face at her but still looked down at her attire. She wore long pants but a revealing low-cut top that showed the straps of her red bra. She wondered if she had chosen that by accident or subconsciously on purpose to impress Leonard and make him hot by letting him know what bra, and, by extension, panties she was wearing.

“Again, very funny. Not everything I do is for his behalf.”

“Sure, sure. Keep telling yourself that. But haven't you noticed that the last two girls nights in those bars we went to, you wore rather, how should I put it, conservative clothing?”

“Seriously? I go to a bar not dressed in something that is one inch shy of flashing by boobs and I'm conservatively dressed?”

“Oh Penny, your buttons are pushed way too easy.” Cheryl laughed and she and Kim got up. “But, we probably get going now. Then you can invite the guys or at least your guy.”

With a last wink from Kim, both women left her apartment. Penny closed the door behind them and leaned against it, her facial expression serious. Although she had most likely meant it in jest, Cheryl's comment had struck a nerve. Penny had avoided wearing the low cut dresses she had in her closet during the last two girls nights out. Both times she had worn knee length denim jeans and a shirt that, while hugging her curves nicely, showed no or almost no cleavage which was like saying to every guy 'Hey, I have something really great under this fabric but none of you can take a peek'.

During the last two weeks after the care bear incident, she hadn't said anything to Leonard. She really needed a woman talk about this but she didn't really know any that were qualified for this. Cheryl and Kim were great friends but in that regard they were woefully useless. She had decided not to mention anything to Leonard. She was sure that he saw more in her than just a mattress warmer but she didn't know if he felt that this was more than being friends with benefits.

When she had gone to bed that night, she had run multiple scenarios in her head and weighed the results. In one, she had told him how she probably felt for him and he had rejected her. It left her fantasy-self heartbroken and it had ended with her moving away after parading a never ending stream of men in front of him without him showing much reaction.

In another, she told him how she probably felt for him and he said he wasn't there yet. The result had been years in ambiguity until he met some accomplished scientist woman and married her, leaving Penny heartbroken once more.

In the last one, she told him how she felt and he reciprocated her feelings. The result had been a relationship that would probably end in marriage with children somewhere down the line. It first, the thought of a stable life with a family of her own had jerked her wide awake but after settling down, she felt that compared to the others it was the best outcome.

That was when she decided to pursue more with him. She didn't know if it would amount to something but she wouldn't tell him anything yet. She'd continue to have fun with him, making sure that he knew what pleasures she could give him. Or as people would call it, ruining him for anyone else.

But her insecurities made her wonder how she could be good enough for him. He was an accomplished scientist genius while she was a community college dropout waitress with a fancy dream of becoming an actress. And one that had landed not a single role anywhere for anything yet. The only quality she could see in herself was her body but how long would that last? Even if he stayed with her for her looks, would he stay in another ten or twenty years?

Penny straightened and shook her head. What has Leonard done to her? Here she was, twenty-two years old, thinking about a man she could imagine spending the rest of her life with. She still had doubts and sometimes at night, she freaked out at the notion, imagining herself chained to a stove with two screaming, blond and bespectacled children attached to her body while Leonard was out doing science stuff and maybe also doing his young female assistant.

“Ugh, get a grip Penny.” she said to herself and prepared the alcoholic beverages she was going to use for her cocktails. After a few minutes, she was satisfied with her selection and left her apartment to get the guys.

 

“Hi guys.” Penny said after knocking and opening the door without waiting for an answer.

“Oh, hey.“ Leonard responded, being the first to reply as usual which set off another flock of butterflies to Penny's stomach.

“I need some guinea pigs...” she started but before she could continue, Sheldon interrupted her.

“Okay, there’s a lab animal supply company in Reseda you could try, but if your research is going to have human applications may I suggest white mice instead, their brain chemistry is far closer to ours.”

“I swear to God, Sheldon, one day I’m going to get the hang of talking to you.” she replied to him with her usual confused expression that came when talking to the tall physicist.

“His mom’s been saying that for years. What’s up?” Leonard piped in.

“Well, I finally convinced the restaurant to give me a bar tending shift, so I need to practice making drinks.”

“Oh, great, well the key to acquiring proficiency in any task is repetition.”

“With certain obvious exceptions. Suicide, for example.“ came from Sheldon.

“So Leonard, how about it?” she said to him, not really caring if the other guys said yes. He was the one she definitely wanted to come over.

“Look, Penny, we’d love to help you.” he started, which made her heart sink because she knew this tone of voice was always the prelude for a rejection “But Raj is going through some stuff right now. And besides, he doesn’t drink, so…” he continued but was interrupted by Raj whispering in his ear. _“_ Really? Um, Raj is going through some stuff right now and he’d like to take up drinking.”

_ _'Okay, this is odd.'_ _ _ Penny thought as she watched Raj smile and nod his head. She herself had several times gone through stuff that made her wanted to have a drink, so she wondered what possibly could have happened to Raj to make him want to drink. _

_ She led the way out of theirs and into her apartment with Leonard being the first to follow her. Raj came in right after, followed by Howard, who she thought would never pass up an opportunity for giving her some sleazy comment or pick up line that was somehow a good one in his mind. Sheldon was the last of the group and he came to her apartment with visible reluctance. To her it seemed, he just accompanied them because he didn't want to be alone. _

_“ So guys, what do you want? As you can see, I have quiet the selection here.” she said and pointed to the dizzying amount of bottles of alcoholic beverages._

_“ So, what's in your repertoire?” Leonard asked her._

_“ I've printed out several recipes and memorized them.”_

_“ Well then, I think I might try a tequila sunrise.” he said, winking at Penny and inconspicuously licking his lips. Penny's eyes went wide at his action. His right eye half closed before opening again, giving her the hint of a wink._

_ _'Damn, doesn't he know what this is doing to me?'_ _ _ she thought while desperately trying to prevent the heat she felt in her body from reaching her head.  _ _ _'Who am I kidding. Of course he does. Damn you Leonard.'_ _ _ She squinted her eyes and slightly pursed her lips and when she saw his face fluster, she did a little happy dance on the inside. Happy to have won this particular battle of wills, she mixed his drink together. _

“Okay, here you go, Leonard, one tequila sunrise.”

“Thank you. This drink is a wonderful example of how liquids with different specific gravities interact in a cylindrical container.” he explained before seeing her confused face. “Thank you.”

“Okay, Raj, what will it be? _” she asked the Indian, who answered by whispering in Leonard's ear._

“Whatever you recommend.” her secret lover translated.

“Uh, how about a grasshopper. I make a mean grasshopper. Okay?” she asked and Raj nodded. “Good. Coming up. Sheldon, what are you going to have?”

“I’ll have a diet coke.”

“Okay, can you please order a cocktail, I need to practice mixing drinks.” she told him while trying to remain calm. Sheldon could really get on her nerves sometimes.

“Fine. I’ll have a virgin cuba libre.“

“That’s rum and coke without the rum.”

“Yes.”

“So coke.”

“Yes. And would you make it diet?”

“There’s a can in the fridge.” she sighed deflated. Why bother with him.

“A cuba libre traditionally comes in a tall glass with a lime wedge.” Sheldon said.

“Then swim to Cuba.” she retorted, finally losing her composure.

“Bartenders are supposed to have people skills.“ the lanky physicist countered while getting up to go to the fridge. _'Typical of him to have the last word.'_ she thought while finishing with the grasshopper for Raj.

“Okay, Raj, here you go. Alright, who’s next?”

“I’d like to try a slippery nipple.” Howard said. Penny looked down at her own cleavage and sighed. While she was grateful that Howard kept quite until now, there was only one man in this room right now that was allowed to look at her breasts. And it certainly wasn't Howard.

“Okay, you’re cut off.” she told him. “Anybody need a refill?”

“Where did my life go, Penny?” Raj suddenly spoke up, which made everyone turn to him in surprise. “One day I’m a carefree bachelor, and the next I’m married and driving a minivan to peewee cricket matches in suburban New Delhi.”

“Are… are you talking to me?” she asked, the shock in her voice still evident.

“Is there another Penny here?” he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which to him it kind of was. “I had such plans. I had dreams. I was going to be the Indira Gandhi of particle astrophysics. But with a penis, of course.”

“It’s amazing.” Leonard piped in, giving voice to all their thoughts.

“Ever since I was a little boy my father wanted me to be a gynecologist like him. How can I be a gynecologist, I can barely look a woman in the eye. You know what, I’m not going to let my parents control my future any longer, it’s time for a showdown. Somebody give me a computer with a webcam.” Raj shouted and stood up, walking shakily towards the couch.

“Okay, sweetie, I think that’s the grasshopper talking.” Penny tried to calm him down.

“And it’s about time to tell my parents that I’m not riding an elephant down the aisle with Lalita Gupta.”

“Okay, calm down, no-one can make you get married. Why don’t you just meet this girl and, see what happens.”

“Haven’t you been listening to me, I cannot talk to women.”

“Um… Raj.” Leonard started but was interrupted by Howard.

“No, no, let’s see how long it takes him.”

“Raj, honey, you say you can’t talk to women but… you’ve been talking to me.” Penny said.

“And now we’ll never know.” Sheldon piped in.

“You’re right. I… I am talking to you.” Raj realized. “Hello Penny, how are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay, now I just need to make sure I have a Lalita before I meet the grasshopper. It’s a sweet green miracle.” Raj said and took another sip.

“Okay, if you’re going to drink on this date just promise me you won’t overdo it.”

“Overdo what? Happiness? Freedom? This warm glow inside of me that promises everything is going to be all hunky donkey?”

“Yeah, that. Uh, why don’t you bring her to my restaurant when I’m tending the bar so I can keep an eye on you?”

“Okay.”

“Wait a minute, what’s the plan here?” Leonard asked around. “Let’s say he meets her and he likes her and they get married, what’s he going to do, stay drunk for the rest of his life?”

“Worked for my parents.” Howard said and shook his head.

“So, now we know that Raj can talk to women when he has alcohol in him.” Sheldon started. “I think that gives us the perfect opportunity for an experiment. We should try to figure out how much alcohol is required. Does he need liquor? Is one beer enough? Two? More? I get tingly just thinking about the process.”

“Hey, you stick on legs, nobody does experiments on me.”

“Wow buddy, what's with the harsh words?” Howard asked.

“Keep quiet, you... you chicken wing. He he, chicken wing. Howard looks like a chicken, he has no fat.”

“Holy crap, drunk Raj is an asshole.” Leonard stated.

“The only one who is allowed to do experiments with me is Penny.” Raj slurred and leered at Penny. “I think we should first find out, how her ample breasts feel in my hands.”

“Okay, gross!” Penny shouted and stood up before getting behind Leonard for protection. “No more alcohol for you until you learned to deal with the effects.”

“Oh come on, where's your spirit of adventure.” Raj said loudly and shakily stood up. “Lets go Penny, free them and shake them.”

“I must agree with him on that suggestion.” Howard piped in.

“Everybody out!” Penny shouted. “You have ten seconds to exit my apartment before I let my argument assistant do the talking.” she continued and picked up her baseball bat. The gang hurriedly fled the apartment, with Sheldon being the first one out, followed by Howard who dragged a drunk Raj, that was still staring at Penny's chest, behind him.

“I'm very sorry for what he said.” Leonard said as he stood on her doorstep.

“Not your fault sweetie. If you want, you can stay. But I need to get changed, have to go to work in ten minutes.” she said and walked over to him.

“I better go over there before Raj does something stupid and vomits on our furniture. You still want to come to your restaurant on Friday when he meets that girl?”

“Sure. But make it clear to him not to say things like today.”

“I'll try. Can't promise anything though. But I promise to drag him out of there if he starts insulting people.”

“Thank you Leonard.” Penny said and gave Leonard a tender kiss on the lips. When she felt his arms around her waist, she put hers around his neck and the kiss quickly deepened. Way too soon, Leonard broke it.

“Bye Penny. I would like to continue this but who knows if one of the guys comes out here.”

“Bye Leonard. See you later.” she said and gave him one last peck before closing her door. She was still smiling when she got dressed and left for work.

 

“Penny?” her manager stopped her on her way to the break room. “You got a minute?”

“Sure Mike, what's going on?”

“How's your practicing coming? Any progress?”

“Yeah. Mixed some tequila sunrise and grasshoppers today. I will mix some more after going home and tomorrow too.”

“Great. Then have fun bar tending on Friday.”

“Thanks Mike.” Penny said and went into the break room.

“Penny!” she heard someone shouting.

“Jesus Christ, Cheryl, you want to give me a heart attack?”

“Relax. Your bar tending gig still on?” she asked.

“Yep. Mike just asked me as well. Mixed some drinks for the guys as I said. By the way, we made Raj talk in front of me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh right, you don't know that, although you slept with him.”

“Hey, how did you know that?”

“Kim told me that you left with him on Halloween.” Penny said and winked at her. “Anyway, Raj has some sort of mental pathology thingy, he literally can't talk to women.”

“So that's why he was such a great listener.”

“Yeah. Turns out, when he has alcohol in him, he suddenly can talk to girls. And guess what? He is a total asshole when drunk.”

“Well, I think most people turn into assholes when drunk.”

“True. But with him it was extreme. He had less than one grasshopper and started insulting the guys and me. Get this, he wanted to do an experiment with me. How my breasts feel in his hands.”

“What, seriously?”

“Yeah. And of course, Howard had to pile on. Had to threaten them with bodily harm to get them out of my apartment.”

“Oh, I bet Leonard was disappointed to leave when he could have been there staring at your chest.”

“Shut up. But yes, I would have let him look. And touch. And I think I was more disappointed to let him leave. But I had to get changed for work anyway.”

“Ah, so no recording done yet.”

“Ugh, please don't remind me of that stupid bet.”

“Hey, you play you pay.” Cheryl said and winked at Penny before leaving the break room. Penny sat back and put her feet up on another chair, stretching out for a few minutes. Tomorrow she had the girls over and they were going to sample her mixing skills.

 

“There you go Cheryl, one Sex On The Beach.” Penny said and handed Cheryl the drink.

“Wow, that thing is good.” Cheryl replied after taking a sip. “You're getting really good at this.”

“How about you Lynn?”

“I'm the driver, I can't drink.” Lynn said.

“Hey, I have found a recipe on a German website. Oddly enough, it is also called Sex On The Beach but its only alcohol is a finger's breadth of Baileys. The rest is non-alcoholic fruit nectar and milk.”

“Sure, I'll try.”

Penny mixed the ingredients according to the recipe and handed her the finished drink. She watched in anticipation as Lynn took a sip.

“Holy crap, that's amazing.” Lynn exclaimed and let everyone take a sip. Penny had to agree, this drink was really good.

“Okay Kim, what about you?”

“Can you make me a Blair Witch Cocktail?” Kim asked.

“Sorry, I don't have cold espresso or gummy worms.”

“Too bad. How about a frosty angel?”

“That I can do.” Penny said and poured orange juice into a round glass. She put two scoops of vanilla ice in before pouring the four centiliters of vodka. She carefully stirred it and put an orange slice on the rim of the glass before handing the drink to Kim. “Enjoy.”

Kim took a large gulp and hummed in content before holding her head. “Brain freeze.” she shouted to the laughter of the other girls.

“Melissa, do you want one? Come on, give me something complicated.”

“Well, my boyfriend has found a recipe for a drink from one of his table top games. I brought it with me.” Melissa said and handed Penny a piece of paper.

“Bloody hell, you want to drink that?” Penny asked and looked at Melissa.

“Can't hurt to try. Can always pour it away.”

“Damn girl, you are a risk taker.” Penny commented and mixed the drink.”Seriously, who thought of a drink called Fusionnaire?”

“What's in there?” Kim asked.

“Nine parts lemon juice, six parts vodka plus three parts of each peppermint schnapps, lemon schnapps and rum.” Penny read it off the list.

“Jesus. One glass and you fall down. Better pour it into several shot glasses. I want to try that too.”

“Of course you want to. But I do too.” Penny said and finished mixing the drink. She poured it into four shot glasses that she had cooled in the freezer for a few minutes. She refrained from offering Lynn one, knowing that this was way too much alcohol to give to a designated driver.

“Well, cheers.” Penny exclaimed and clinked her glass with the others before all of them drank it in one swig. Penny was unable to suppress the coughing but didn't feel embarrassed by it when she saw the others cough as well.

“Wow, that's disgusting.” she said and wiped away the tears. She handed tissues to the others and gave each of them a slice of toast to cancel out the burning sensation in their mouths.

“Holy shit, who would ever drink something like that.” Cheryl said and kept eating her toast.

“Well, if you want to lose some IQ points and some taste buds, this is the drink for you.” Kim agreed.

“Girls, I think that concludes the tasting part of the evening. Any more of those experiments and none of us will be able to work tomorrow. And I won't make good first impression as bartender if I throw up in front of the customers.

The group laughed and they moved to Penny's couch to finish the evening gossiping about friends who weren't with them and to talk about their respective relationships. Most of course was directed at Penny and her hard-to-define relationship with Leonard. Penny cursed them every time she had to blush when they told each other about yet another embarrassing moment where she made it obvious that she felt more than just sexual attraction to him.

 

“Enjoying your tequila sunrise?” Penny asked Leonard, who was sitting at the bar next to Howard.

“Yeah, thanks.” he replied. It was evident that he seemed to enjoy it by the amount he had already consumed, whereas Howard's Southern Lady still remained untouched on the bar.

They all watched Raj, who, as expected, made an ass of himself, insulting the woman left and right without even realizing it. He kept telling her how fat she used to be, and Penny was sure that if she had been in Lalita's position, she would have decked Raj already.

“Do you have a drink that will make him less obnoxious?” Leonard asked her.

“Sorry sweetie, drinks don't work that way. Except if you drink a whole lot of it and pass out.”

Penny kept watching Raj and only half heard Howard saying something about a woman with a mustache and tail when Sheldon walked in and ordered another virgin diet cuba libre in a tall glass, much to Penny's dismay.

“Yeah, I wedge it right in there.” she said, referring to the lime wedge Sheldon demanded to his, basically, diet coke.

Then the Friday turned strange. She saw Sheldon turn around and compare Raj's date to a comic character. She saw him walking over to them and amazingly enough, his antics were pleasant to the woman.

“Hey Leonard.” she whispered to him, still sitting at the bar. “Who's this Princess Punjabi.”

“It's Punchali. And apparently it's a character from The Monkey and the Princess. I never saw or read it.”

“Where is he going with this?” she continued when she saw the woman get flustered at Sheldon's description of the character she apparently resembled.

“Beats me. If he were a normal man, it could be seen as a pick-up line. But this is Sheldon we're talking about.”

“Sheldon, are you hungry?” Lalita asked him loud enough for Penny to hear.

“I could eat.” he answered and they left, leaving the rest of them in dumbfounded silence.

“What just happened?” Raj asked no one in particular.

“Beats the hell out of me.” Leonard stated and Penny could only agree with him.

“I’ll tell you what just happened, I just learned how to pick up Indian chicks." Howard said and Penny had to fight the urge to pour his drink over his head.

“Damn, Sheldon picked up a girl. Who would have thought this day would come.” Penny mused.

“If he lands in bed with her...” Leonard started.

“He won't end up in bed with her. I don't think he knows how to use his junk.” Howard cut in.

“If she's determined enough, he won't have to know, she will do all the work.” Penny said.

“Where's the fun in that?” Howard asked.

“There are men who like it when the girl takes charge, right Leonard?” she asked and winked to her lover, grinning as he blushed when she licked her lips. _'Yeah, two can play this game.'_

“Well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind him turning her around and take charge himself, don't you think?” he retorted with a wink of his own which in turn made Penny blush.

“Do you two want to be alone?” Howard asked. Raj still looked like a lost puppy.

“Shut up. So guys, what will you do now?”

“Head home I guess.” Howard said.

“Penny, how long until your shift ends?” Leonard asked her.

“About ten minutes, why?” she answered after checking her watch.

“Can you give me a ride? Then Howard won't have to make a detour to bring me home.”

“Sure, if you don't mind waiting.”

“I don't mind. The company is pleasant enough.”

“Aww. Don't you know how to sweet talk a lady.” she said and gave him her only-for-him smile.

“You know, I could keep you company as well.” Howard stated in his usual fashion.

“Aww, don't you know how to turn off a woman. You just need to open your mouth.”

“Fine, I'll leave. Come on Raj, I take you home.” Howard said and left with the Indian, who was still in shocked silence about what happened with his date.

Penny did some cleaning work behind the counter while Leonard watched her. Every few seconds she stole a glance at him and saw his eyes transfixed on her. If done by anyone else, she would have found it creepy but done by Leonard, she strangely enough found it alluring and made her feel wanted and desired. She made sure to bend down a few times in plain view of him, giving him ample opportunity to stare at her ass.

From time to time, she pretended to cure an itch by rubbing her hand over her butt. She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes a few times, seeing his gaze glued to her behind and smiled. So far, she was in no danger of losing him.

“Hey Penny, I'm here.” a voice said to her, making her turn around.

“Hey Steve. Business is not that great tonight but have fun with your shift.”

“Yeah, fun. Standing here doing nothing but wipe the counter. Had fun with your first bar tending shift?”

“Yes. Mixing drinks is great, way better than serving meals.”

“That's true. Well, off you go. You two have fun with the rest of your evening.” Steve said, directing the last remark at both her and Leonard. She wondered if Cheryl had told him anything or if she herself made it too obvious for observant people to notice.

“Sure. Come on Leonard, lets go home.”

She grabbed him by the hand and almost dragged him out of the building. They went to her car but before she unlocked the doors, she pushed him against it and kissed him hard. It took a few seconds for him to react but when he did, he grabbed her hips and pressed her against him, kissing her right back.

“Mhhh, I wanted to do that all evening.” Penny said after breaking the kiss. “Come on.”

They got into her car and drove home. After entering the building and walking up the stairs, Penny was about to grab him and drag him into her apartment when they heard voices coming from his apartment.

“It sounds like Raj.” Leonard remarked. “I thought Howard brought him home, what is he doing here?”

“You better go check.” Penny sighed at another missed opportunity for a little them-time. “I'm gonna go take a shower. You know, have hot water run along my naked body...”

“Penny! Please don't torture me.”

“Me? But I'm the innocence in person.” she smiled and batted her eyelashes.

“Sure you are. You little minx.” Leonard said and put his hand under her work skirt to squeeze her butt, an action that made her jump at the audacity. Leonard only smiled before he walked into his apartment, leaving Penny standing in the hallway.

Penny only grinned and headed into her apartment. She quickly got out of her uniform and went into the shower, letting the water wash away the stress of the day. After drying off, she put on a pair of underwear and some sweatpants and a shirt. She was about to go over to Leonard's place, when she heard voices from the hallway. She realized it was Raj, probably talking to his parents. She refrained from going out there because it would cause him to go silent and she wouldn't want to do that in front of his family.

After an hour of reading magazines and watching TV, Raj was still in the hallway. Seeing the futility of waiting any longer, she went to bed.

_“ Hey guys, what are you doing here?” Penny asked Leonard and Sheldon, who had just come to the bar._

_“ Well, we just had dinner and Howard and Raj went to another bar. Howard probably hopes to score but with Raj starting to get obnoxious after a cocktail, I don't see that happen.” Leonard answered._

_“ Well, to be fair, Howard doesn't need Raj to be obnoxious to get rejected.” Penny said and winked at Leonard. “So, what will it be?”_

_“ Just water for me, I'm driving tonight.” Leonard said._

_“ Virgin diet cuba libre.” Sheldon said, making Penny roll er eyes. _ _ _'Time to have some fun.'_ _ _ she thought and poured rum into his glass before placing it in front of him. _

_“ Oh, that tastes funny.” Sheldon commented after taking a sip through the straw. “What did you do to it?”_

_“ Nothing much. I just put some lime into the coke instead of just a wedge on the glass.”_

_“ Yummy.” Sheldon said and proceeded to down the entire glass in one gulp. “Keep 'em coming.”_

_ Penny gave him three more cuba libres, which he downed in quick succession. After she gave him the fifth one, he took it and went to the keyboard, much to Leonard and Penny's surprise. He started it up and played a few notes before starting to blast the melody to To Life from Fiddler on the Roof. _

_“_ To life, to life l'chaim. L'chaim, l'chaim, to life.  
It takes a wedding to make us say, let's live another day. Drink, l'chaim, to life.  
  
"We'll raise a glass and sip a drop of schnapps in honor of the great good luck that favored you. We know that when good fortune favors two such men, it stands to reason we deserve it too. 

_“ To life, to life, l'chai-im. L'chai-im, l'chai-im, to life. Life has a way of confusing us, blessing and bruising us. Drink l'chaim, to life.”_

_ Sheldon took regular sips from his drink during his rendition of two different versions of the song, one from the movie and one from the play. Leonard watched in astonishment as Penny bobbed her head to the tune and the other patrons seemed to enjoy it as well as Sheldon continued to sing enthusiastically. _

“I don’t believe it, what’s gotten into him?” he asked as he turned to her.

“Oh, maybe a couple of virgin cuba libres that turned out to be kind of slutty.” she grinned and waved the bottle of rum.

“You didn’t?”

“Hey, you do your experiments, I do mine.” she said and enjoyed his smile.

“You know he will crash hard, don't you?” Leonard asked. “And if he does, you're gonna help me put him into bed.”

“Why should I? He's your roommate.”

“And you made him drunk. How many did he have? Five? That's like five more than he ever had.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he never drinks alcohol. He doesn't even drink coffee.”

“Oh man, he will crash hard.”

“Yep.”

They kept watching Sheldon as he played out the song and go up on shaky legs, walking back to the bar to the applause of the other patrons while grinning like a Cheshire cat. Penny could see the drunken haze in his eyes and she knew he shouldn't drink any more alcohol.

“Sheldon, I think we should go home now.” Leonard said. “Penny's shift is almost over too.”

“But she gives such tasty lime diet cokes. Can't I have some more?” Sheldon slurred.

“But Sheldon, if we don't head home, you will be too tired for Doctor Who in the morning.”

“DOCTOR WHOOOOOO!” Sheldon shouted, which caused several other guests to turn their heads. “Yeah, lets go. Great drinks Penny!”

“Well, you made one customer real happy.” Penny's manager said to her. “But it's the end of your shift too. Go home, enjoy your free Sunday.”

“Thanks Mike.”

Penny went to her car and started driving. On her way out she couldn't see Leonard's car, he must already be farther down the road. As she drove into a parking space in front of her apartment building, she saw two figures next to the entrance. One of them was clearly Leonard, his stand and locks visible against the security light over the door. The other was hunched over the bushes and when Penny closed in on them, she could hear the sounds of retching.

“Now my throat feels funny.” she heard Sheldon say as he stood up.

“Come on buddy, lets get you to bed.” Leonard said as Penny reached them.

“Hey guys. Need help?”

“Yes please. Walk behind us in case he trips.” Leonard said and the three of them went into the building.

It took a while for them go get up to the fourth floor with Sheldon regularly tripping and giggling as he lay on the steps until finally they were in Leonard's apartment.

“Do you need any more help?” Penny asked him as they led Sheldon to the bathroom.

“It's okay, I will help him wash up and then put him to bed. I'm sure he'll fall asleep soon.”

“Okay. I'm gonna go take a shower. Good night, sweetie.”

“Night, Penny.”

Before she closed the apartment door, she heard Sheldon yell out something about how cold Leonard's hands were. Still laughing, she quickly entered her apartment, took of her clothes and went into the shower to get cleaned up. She took off her make-up and changed into her pajamas, went back into her living room and took up a magazine.

 

After a few minutes, someone knocked on her door. She stood up and opened it, finding a somewhat distraught Leonard in the hallway, strangely enough clad only in shorts, a shirt and his robe.

“Hey you. What's going on?”

“Can I sleep here tonight? Sheldon keeps murmur-singing To Life in his sleep. It's not loud but really annoying.”

“Oh, sure. Come on in.” Penny said and made room for him to enter.

Leonard sat down on her couch and watched Penny move around in her pajamas, a small smile on his face. His facial expression wasn't lost on her and she deliberately moved in a way that made her curves move in a suggestive way. She put a wineglass for him on the table and filled it, picking hers up and sat down next to him. They clinked their glasses and each took a sip and Penny enjoyed the taste running down her throat.

“So, what are your plans for the Sunday?” she asked him and put down her empty glass.

“Nothing much. Sleeping in I guess. Usually Sheldon would get up early to watch Doctor Who but I think he will also sleep in. I deactivated his alarm.”

“What's the like when hungover?”

“I have no idea, he never has been before. But I fear it will be even worse than when he's sick. Then, he turns even more into a little child, demanding attention and everything. A hungover Sheldon with a bad headache will be a nightmare.”

“Oh, poor sweetie.” she said and started rubbing up and down his arm.

“When do you have to get to work tomorrow?” he asked her.

“Day off.” she replied grinning. “That means sleeping in for me as well.”

“Sleeping in for you means up after lunch.”

“Hey!” She slapped his arm playfully but had to agree with him. Her usual time to get up was somewhere before noon but still the two digit range on the clock. It had been a long time since she had slept later then noon but that was always preluded by a long night out with people. Or sickness.

“Hm, I just realized something.” Leonard started.

“What is that?”

“Well, Sheldon is happily drunk and none of us has to get up early tomorrow.”

“Right, and?”

Instead of answering, he pulled her into his lap and started kissing her neck. She put her arms behind her head and around his neck and shifted her position so that she was straddling him with her back to him. She bend her head to give him easier access to her neck and he put her invitation to good use, sucking on her pulse point which lead her to give a breathy moan.

“Leonard? You didn't even ask me if I wanted to. What if I'm not in the mood?”

“Yeah, I can see that.” he replied and let his hand glide down to rest between her legs. Her hips bucked forward into his hand almost by reflex and she enjoyed the friction it caused. He softly rubbed her over her pajama bottoms until she gave him a satisfied moan. “Yep, you're definitely not in the mood.”

He stopped what he was doing and gently pushed her off his lap, making her sit on the couch again. She looked at him with an open mouth and saw him smirking slightly. For some reason, that facial expression of his made her both furious with him and horny.

“You dirty little...” she started and threw herself on him. She almost ripped the glasses off his face and kissed him hard, her hands going directly under his robe and shirt to wander over his stomach while his hands were holding her waist. He kissed her right back, his tongue battling hers once more until he heard her moan into his mouth. He let his hands wander down to her butt, squeezing it and occasionally rubbing over her center, an action that made her make a low squealing sound. Penny broke the kiss first and lifter her upper body, looking down at his grinning face but kept her lower body pressed to his. She rolled her hips over his noticeable erection and saw his eyes flutter.

“I know what you did here.” she told him.

“Really? What did I do?” he asked right back.

“Making me all hot and bothered and then stopping so I will initiate the sex.”

“Did it work?”

“Oh yes, it did. And you must be punished.” she said and stood up, pulling him up with her. She started towards her bedroom, her hand never leaving his.

“Do I? And how would that look like?”

Instead of answering, she pulled his robe and shirt off him before almost ripping his shorts from his body. His manhood was already hard and erect as if looking up to her and she subconsciously licked her lips. At last, she threw him onto her bed, hard enough for him to almost drop off it on the other end. Only a quick reflex from him kept him up there.

“A little eager, aren't we?” he asked grinning.

“Be quiet, you must be punished.”

“You already said that but still no information on how that will unfold.”

“Oh, I think for starters, I will ride your little soldier until the tip glows.”

“As enticing as that sounds, I don't think my “little soldier”, and I resent the word little, can last long enough to achieve that.”

“Oh, I have a way of helping with that.” she said and took a rubber band from one of her drawers. She stretched it a bit before wrapping it around the base of his manhood. “Now you won't come for a while.”

She slowly took off her clothes, watching him as his eyes went wide and started playing with her own body. She moaned loudly as her left hand wandered between her legs and with her other hand she started caressing her breast. Leonard was about to sit up but a look from her made him back down.

He slid back and watched with lust as Penny slowly crawled on the bed towards him, her lips trailing a line up his legs until they reached his groin. She let her tongue run up and down his erection, kissing the tip and enjoying both Leonard's moan and the twitching of his manhood her actions caused.

She took him into her mouth completely, bobbing her head slowly and sucking hard on the tip. Leonard's hips bucked upwards and his hands went to the back of her head, showing her clearly that he enjoyed what she did. She kept her eyes on his face and when his eyes locked on hers, she went down fully, taking him in completely and holding her head down for a few seconds.

She repeated this action a few times, her eyes never leaving his, before rapidly moving her head up and down. Thanks to the rubber band, he couldn't come even if he wanted to and she used this to her advantage. With a plop, she released him and climbed up his body, her lips again leaving a trail of kisses on his stomach and chest.

Neither of them said a word when she climbed onto his lap and sank down on his manhood. After a few seconds of getting used to him she started moving in a grinding motion, slowly forward and backward.

“This won't make it glow, you know.” he said, snapping her out of her pleasure haze.

“Oh, this is just the warm up.” she replied and got more comfortable on him.

She put her hands on his chest and sped up her movements. Moderate at first, she sighed inwardly to finally be able to feel him inside her again. She had missed this for the last two weeks, his manhood moving against her walls and stimulating her nerve endings. Her speed increased once more, becoming more rabid as she dug her fingernails into the skin of his chest.

Soon her speed reached its peak, her movements an almost insanely fast grinding on his body. She felt herself clench and her first orgasm rushed through her but still she kept up the speed which in turn made the orgasm even more intense and longer lasting. After she had ridden it out, literally, she kept moving at high speed and then opened her eyes to look at him.

When she saw the look in his eyes, her whole face heated up. He looked at her with an expression that went way past simple lust or even adoration. But maybe it was just the elation of their carnal connection but she knew in this moment, that she wanted him to look at him like this as often as possible.

But as much as she wanted to keep looking in his eyes, she still had a promise, or rather a punishment, to fulfill. She closed her eyes again and concentrated on her speed, beads of sweat running down her face and chest. She zoned out Leonard's breathing and moaning, the banging of the headboard against the wall and everything else and focused only on the pleasure coursing through her.

She screamed once more as her second orgasm ripped through her.

 

Twenty-eight minutes.

Eleven orgasms.

Penny lay draped across Leonard's chest, her head next to his and her breathing heavy and labored. She had kept her promise, she rode him and rode him, orgasms coursing through her, never letting up the speed until she finally couldn't continue anymore due to sheer exhaustion.

“If this is your idea of punishment, I will gladly be a bad boy more often.” Leonard said and she could hear the smile in his voice. He too was breathing heavy and he was sweating as well, though not as much as Penny. She lifted herself up and wiped her face and upper body again with a towel, just as Leonard lifted her from his body and placed her on the bed.

“I think I won't do that again, at least not as a desire of punishment. That felt soooo good, it's unbelievable. But it won't be healthy for your little buddy to be tied up every day.” she said and snuggled into her pillow.

“Again with the word little. But you know, thanks to your little rubber band, I'm still not done.” he whispered, pulled off the rubber band and sat up to get on her lower back while he started to massage her shoulders.

“Mhhh, that feels good. If you're not done, you might have to take care of that yourself. I can barely move right now.”

“Very well, I will. And you don't even have to move.” he said and positioned himself behind her. She realized what he was planning to do when she felt his hand rub along her center and the tip of his erection against her entrance.

“Wait, that's not what I me...ooooooh my god, please keep going!” she cried out as he pushed in to the hilt, their GSS position allowing him to stimulate her g-spot again with every thrust.

He started thrusting hard and fast with his hands holding her hips tight, the bedframe again hammering against the wall. Due to her still hypersensitive state, Penny soon cried out another orgasm, achieving her twelfth orgasm of the night, another first for her. Leonard didn't let her ride it out, too immersed in the release of his own overpressure. He had never felt like this before, his own release blocked for so long.

He pounded her for another three minutes and when Penny screamed his name once more, her clenching insides finally took him over the edge. He released with a loud groan, collapsing onto her back and holding her tight.

“You are an evil man, you know that?” Penny said with a satisfied sigh.

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Making me squeal. And especially making me want to squeal.”

“Don't forget the screaming.”

“I like when you make me scream. It means you're doing it right.” she said and laughed.

“Okay, enough dirty talk for now. Lets go shower and then to bed.”

“You need to help me, I don't think my legs can hold me yet.”

“Don't worry, I will always catch you when you fall.”

Penny knew that his last sentence could have a double meaning. But she was too shy to ask how he meant it. They went into the shower and cleaned themselves up, helping to wash each others backs clean of the good kind of sweat. Leonard was the first one out and after Penny had hung up the towels and brushed her teeth, she went back out in the bedroom to see Leonard just finishing changing the sheets and putting the old ones neatly folded into the laundry basket.

She stood in front of her bathroom door, unsure if she should put on her pajamas. Her decision was made for her when Leonard got into her bed without putting his shorts back on. She hurried to get next to him, almost jumping into her bed before molding herself to his chest. His arm went around her waist again, holding her close to him, a position Penny had begun to associate with Leonard after their third night together.

“What will you tell Sheldon tomorrow if he asks where you spent the night?” she asked quietly.

“If he's up before I'm over there I just tell him that he sang in his sleep and I slept on your couch.”

“And he'll believe that?”

“Sure. He's innocent like that. He doesn't even understand sarcasm, so sexual innuendo is way beyond him. The only thing he might do is telling me that sleeping on a hard couch is counterproductive to a good sleep.”

A ping from her phone remembered Penny of something she couldn't tell him. She turned around in his arms and reached for her cellphone. Holding it next to the side to the bed out of Leonard's line of sight, she quickly typed in a message to Kim and Cheryl, letting them know that the recording had been done and they should pick up the recorder at noon the next day.

“What did you do?”

“Oh, that was Cheryl. She'll come over at noon tomorrow.” Penny exclaimed and turned back to snuggle herself to his chest again.

“Okay.”

“Good night, sweetie.” she said.

“Good night, Penny.” he replied and promptly fell asleep.

 

Penny felt his breathing evening out and realized that he had fallen asleep. She looked up at his sleeping face and sighed to herself. This was what she always looks forward too. First to be pleasured the way only Leonard can and then cuddling up to him. The last three times they had done that, their first night in the hotel, after Halloween and during the Christie fiasco, it had been the best sleep she had compared to all the other lonely nights.

“Leonard.” she whispered. “It scares me to see how you have become such an integral part of my life. I couldn't imagine anymore to see you with someone else. It would break my heart to lose you. Even if you don't feel anything but sexual attraction for me, I promise, no other man will touch me as long as you want me.”

Penny settled down again and closed her eyes. Before she fell asleep, she felt Leonard give her waist a soft squeeze. Maybe one day she will feel confident enough to tell him to his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done with this one. I hope you liked it ;)
> 
> Review please :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next one. I probably won't be able to write anything for the next few days, my apartment complex is being renovated and from tomorrow onwards I have to relocate my furniture and myself into one of the buildings common rooms (no internet there)
> 
> But for now, enjoy :)
> 
> Disclaimer: is the usual

Penny sat on her couch, magazine in hand, reading yet another article about how to make bedroom time more sizzling. She kept wondering why Cosmo and other magazines constantly put articles like these in their issues. So far, when she had been in a bedroom with a man, it was usually enough for her to just take off her clothes and the man was ready to go.

She thought back to the last two men that shared her bed. Kurt had been great in bed, no doubt about it, but after a year into their relationship, she felt like he didn't see her as his beautiful girlfriend anymore but a bed warmer who he expected to make herself available for his pleasure anytime he wanted. He had barely any reaction other than smug satisfaction when she got naked around him.

Then Leonard came into her life. The first night they spent together in that motel, which had only been half a year ago but felt longer, the look in his eyes after she took off her clothes was something she had missed for a long time. It was this look of pure adoration for her physical qualities, a look that said 'I'm so grateful that you exist and let me have you'.

Furthermore, this look had yet to fade. Although Leonard was still shy around her when they weren't alone, he had his confident streak that made her so hot for him, it bordered on uncontrolled lust. She kept thinking about that. Were her conflicting feelings only based on her almost animal reaction to his confidence? When had she become so subservient?

Penny knew that she was usually the initiator. When Leonard was with her or she with him and they were alone, she was mostly the one who started the seduction that ended with her quivering in orgasmic bliss. Yet in those few cases when he started it, like the night Christie was there or three days ago when Sheldon had been drunk, although on that day he had tricked her into initiating it, all he had to do was take her into the bedroom room and kiss her and she was willing to just rip her clothes off, lay down on her stomach and tell him to take her in the most wicked way that made her come hard.

She felt heat pooling between her legs when she thought about their second night together, when Leonard did those positions he had found on Google. After she had climaxed twice being on top for several minutes, she had lifted her ass and invited him in when he wanted to leave. At first they did it in regular doggy, something she wasn't against by any means, but after she had climaxed, she dropped her pelvis down on the bed until she was flat on her stomach and he hadn't stopped pounding.

She knew this position, she had done it before, yet when he had hammered her, she felt as if someone had put electrodes to her nerve endings. She didn't know back then if had thrust in a different angle or if it had been something else but that night had been the first time she had screamed his name in delight in her own bed.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a beeping sound from her phone that told her about an incoming message. She picked it up and saw Cheryl's name listed as the sender.

**Hey girl, what ya doing?** was the message. For some reason, Penny was sure this wasn't a social call to invite her for drinks or something.

**Not much, reading a magazine. Why?**

**Oh, no reason. Kim and I just finished listening to your recording from your night with Leonard ;)**

Penny felt her face blush hard. She had tried to suppress the fact that she had to record her lovemaking once and even worse, it had been the night she had decided, on a whim, to “punish” Leonard by using a rubber band on his member and riding him for almost half an hour before being hammered from behind for five more minutes. Good thing Kim and Cheryl couldn't see her face right now. She turned beet red when she remembered how she had yelled and screamed in pleasure or how the bedframe had pounded against the wall so hard it felt as if the wall was collapsing.

**You had to remember me about that stupid bet, haven't you.**

**Of course. Especially after what we heard. :D**

**Okay, hit me. What's your verdict?**

**Kim and I were wondering, if you could lend him to us for a week or two.**

**HELL NO!!**

**Oh come on, please. Going by what we heard, he must be one hell of a lover. Almost forty minutes of you shouting and screaming his name and praying to any deity out there. Not to mention those rodeo sounds**

**That's why you don't get him :P**

**You're mean, you know that? None of our boyfriends have ever managed more than twenty minutes and your boytoy leaves you exhausted enough for us to hear your labored breathing.**

**Tough luck ;) He's mine and none of you can have him.**

**Is he officially yours now?**

That question made Penny's smile disappear. She had the same train of thought a few days ago, wondering if she could one day be officially his without fearing of him dumping her for someone smarter.

**No** she sent back.

**Why not?**

**I don't want to risk losing him by putting myself out there now. I want to be sure that he feels the same for me. Also, I don't want to get my heart broken.**

**How do you plan on keeping him without him knowing that you want to keep him?**

**I will ruin him for other women. What else can I do? I will offer him my body and do things do him that will make him want to come back to me every day ;)**

**For your sake I hope that doesn't backfire.**

**What else could I do? I really have nothing else**

**Ever thought of going back to college? Take a course or two of something you like. Well, me and Kim will go out now, see you tomorrow.**

**Have fun.**

Penny put down her phone and took up her magazine again. Cheryl's warning that it might backfire made her wonder, if she made the right choice as to how to convince him that she's the best for him. The idea of going to college was ludicrous, wasn't it? She didn't have the intelligence level to study a science course. Any more thoughts were interrupted by loud music and bass sounds coming from the guy's apartment

“What the hell?” she said and stood up, going out and entering Leonard's place. “Hey guys.”

“Hello.” they answered in unison, except for Raj who only waved.

“It’s a little loud.” she commented on their activities.

“No problem, turning it down.” Howard said and did something on his laptop. “San Francisco, Lisbon, Halifax, et voila.

“Okay, thanks.” Penny said and turned to leave.

“Hang on, hang on.” Leonard said, making her turn back. “Do you not realize what we just did?”

“Yeah, you turned your stereo down with your laptop.”

“No, we turned our stereo down by sending a signal around the world via the internet.” Sheldon interjected.

“Oh. You know you can just get one of those universal remotes at Radio Shack, they’re really cheap.” she told him.

“No, no, no, you don’t get it.” Leonard stated again. “Howard, enable public access.“

“Public access enabled.” the engineer proudly exclaimed _._

“Boy, that’s brilliant, but I’ll see you, bye.” she said when nothing happened.

“No, hang on, hang on.” _Leonard stopped her again and suddenly the lights went off and on. “_ See?“

“No.” she replied, not really getting what they were trying to show her.

“Someone in Sezchuan province, China is using his computer to turn our lights on and off.” Sheldon said with a proud facial expression.

“Huh, well that’s handy. Um, here’s a question, why?” she asked.

“Because we can. _”_ _they all replied in unison again just as there was a noise coming from farther into the room._

“They found the remote controlled cars.” Sheldon said excitedly.

“Wait, wait, what’s on top of them.”

“Wireless webcams, wave hello.” Leonard told her and she did, albeit reluctantly.

The monster truck is out of Austin, Texas, and the blue Viper is being operated from suburban Tel Aviv.”

“You may want to put on slacks.” Sheldon suggested from his place next to the laptop.

“What?” she asked shocked. She had only a skirt on with a thong as underwear. “Ew, stop it, leave me alone.“ she waved her finger at the cars and fled the apartment.

She slammed her door close and heard the three cars bump into her door. She decided that she was grossed out enough to go directly the bed. She changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth before lying down. As she closed her eyes she smiled to herself when she thought of Leonard and how his eyes will hopefully grow large when she undresses in front of him next time and he sees her new thong she had bought yesterday and was resting in her drawer.

 

The next morning, Penny woke up to an argument in the hallway. She could hear Leonard and Sheldon argue with each other about something they had done together and Leonard wanted to present. She looked through her peephole and saw Sheldon disappear down the stair case and Leonard standing their with a shaking head.

“Good morning, sweetie.” she said quietly after opening the door.

“Hey Penny.” came his reply. “Wow, you look good in the morning.”

“Aw, someone wants into my pants again.” she said with a smile, aware of her disheveled appearance. “What's going on?”

“Sheldon's mad at me because I want to present a paper he and I co-authored. He thinks it's beneath him. And since I'm adamant about doing it, he refuses to speak to me and takes the bus to work. Come to think of it, that's really a good thing.” he said, the last thing smiling.

_“ What's this paper about?” she asked._

_“ Paradoxical Movement-of-Inertia Changes Due to Putative Super-Solids.” he said and saw her blank stare. “But I can see by your facial expression that no amount of coffee can make you awake enough to understand that.”_

“If you weren't the one pleasuring me way too irregularly I would deck you for your hidden accusation that I'm too dumb to understand that.”

“What? Oh no... I didn't... Penny... I wasn't...” he stammered until he saw her smile.

_“ Relax, I'm kidding. You're right, no amount of coffee can make me awake enough to understand that. Why doesn't he want to do the presentation?”_

_“ As I said, he thinks it's beneath him. In his opinion, the scientific community should just take his word if he makes a hypothesis and my contribution to the whole thing, which was the design of the experiment that proved his claim, is only miniscule and doesn't even deserve a mention of my name but he “just threw me a bone” by including me.” Leonard said with air quotes._

_“ How can you still live with him if he's always like this?”_

_“ There's a reason but I can't tell you. But I wanted to ask you a favor. Could you help me pick out something to wear? As you can see by my daily attire, I don't have much experience in dressing up for fancy events.”_

_“ I'd love to. When?”_

_“ Can you come by this afternoon after we're home from work? The presentation is at seven pm.”_

_“ Sure. See you then.” Penny said and checked the stairway to see if Sheldon lurked around the corner before giving Leonard a soft kiss and going back into her apartment._

 

_ Penny spent her day off with watching TV and reading magazines. It was amazing how little there was to do if nobody was around. Maybe the next time she had a day off she should ask Leonard to take one off as well. Then they could spent the entire day in bed together, having sex every thirty to sixty minutes and they could be loud. _

_ She quickly discarded those thoughts, the images of her grinding on Leonard or herself screaming in delight as he pushed in from behind in her most favorite position bringing heat and moisture into her core.  _

_ Luckily for her, or not depending on what point of view, she heard someone coming onto her floor. A look through the peephole revealed Leonard without Sheldon coming home. Not waiting, she opened the door. _

_“ Hey you.” she greeted him. “Where's Sheldon?”_

_“ He's taking the bus again.”_

_“ Okay then.” she said and accompanied him into his apartment and bedroom. “Lets see what clothes you have.”_

_“ Listen Penny, before we look for something to wear, can I ask you something?” he asked with a nervous but serious undertone._

_“ Yeah sure.” she replied and felt her heartbeat increase._

_“ Will you come with me to the presentation? It would mean a lot to me.”_

__'Yes! A thousand times yes.'_ _ _ she thought and did a little happy dance in her mind. “Yeah, okay. But only if you buy me dinner after.” _

_ “Sure, I can do that.” _

_ She opened his closet and rummaged through the things in there. It was for a pitiful sight for sure, mostly out of style shirts, a few pants and no suits at all that she could see. She heard him give a soft whistle of appreciation. _

_“ What?” she asked him as she turned around._

_“ Oh, nothing. I just couldn't help but notice how great those pants hug your curves.”_

_“ You have a dirty mind, Leonard Hofstadter. But I'm sure you like this view as well.” she said and slightly bend down, giving him an ample view of her cleavage._

_“ Oh yes!” he hissed. Penny only grinned and turned back to his closet._

“So, how’s it going with Sheldon, are you guys still not talking to each other?”

“Not only is he still not talking to me, but there’s this thing he does where he stares at you and tries to get your brain to explode. You know, like in the classic sci-fi movie Scanners?” he said which caused her to turn around in shock and confusion. “Never mind. How about this one.” he suggested and grabbed a suit out of the closet. “It says 'I know my physics, but I’m still a fun guy!'”

“Oh wow, I didn’t know they still made corduroy suits.” she said with a shake of her head.

“They don’t, that’s why I saved this one.”

“Okay well, let’s just see what else you have. Okay, here, take this, and this, and this, and these.” she said and handed him a handful of shirts.

“Is this all stuff you want me to try on?”

“No, this is stuff I want you to throw out. Seriously, don’t even give it to charity, you won’t be helping anyone.” she turned back to the closet and saw a model city under a glass dome on the top shelf and picked it up. “What’s this?”

“Oh, that’s the bottled city of Kandor.” he replied and saw her questioning look. “You see, Kandor was the capital city of the planet Krypton, it was miniaturized by Brainiac before Krypton exploded and then rescued by Superman.”

“Oh, nice.”

“It’s a lot cooler when girls aren’t looking at it.”

“Here, why don’t you put these on while I find a shirt and sport-coat to match.” she said and handed him a pair of pants.

“Great, be right back.”

“Wait, where you going, just put them on.”

“Oh. I'm still in my habit of not changing in front of anyone.

“Sweetie, I watched you get naked and then get dressed again. Granted, you were naked for a while and later put the same clothes back on but it can be counted as changing.”

“Right.” he said and opened his pants.

“Don’t worry, if you feel shy I won’t look.” she said smiling.

“I'm not shy in front of you, why would I. There’s nothing to see anyway. Well, not nothing…”

“Oh I know that there's something to see down there.” she said and turned to him before walking against his back. She grabbed around him and put her hands over his crotch, slowly rubbing it.

“What are you doing?” he asked but closed his eyes anyway.

“Just making sure that it's still alive and kicking. I may be an occasionally steak-eating vegetarian but you have one kind of sausage I really have no qualms about putting into my mouth.” she said and put her hand down his shorts.

She began stroking his manhood, feeling it stiffen and growing fast. She grinned to herself and enjoyed the power she had over him. Now she knew how he surely felt when she wanted to throw herself at him after he just rubbed her ass. She let her thumb glide over the tip, an action that caused him to groan loudly.

“Do you like that?” she asked seductively

“Oh yes. Please continue.”

“As you wish.” she said and increased her effort. She stroked faster and let her index finger glide over the tip. She heard him inhale sharply and realized that her finger was quite dry. She took her hand out and licked her fingers and thumb before putting her hand back into his shorts. She continued her ministrations, enjoying every sound of pleasure that came out of his mouth.

After five minutes of gently stroking, she doubled her speed and pretty much jacked him off fast. He came with a loud groan and she cupped his manhood to catch his spill in her hand. He turned his head towards her and gave her a loving kiss, which she gladly reciprocated.

“I think I have to change my shorts as well.” he grinned after a couple of minutes.

“No need, I think I caught it all.”

“You did? That's so sweet. Thank you.”

“Yeah, but seriously, hand me some paper towels.” she ordered and he quickly complied. She wiped his spill from her hand and threw the towels into his garbage can before taking one of the wet wipes he had in his closet to clean any residuals off her skin.

“Sweetie, now put the pants on.” she ordered, not wanting to give in to her urges to discard her own clothes to let him pleasure her right here and now. She didn't know if Sheldon would get home while she screamed out her pleasure in Leonard's bed with his head between her legs.

“Putting them on.” he complied and quickly donned the pants.

“You know, isn’t there maybe some way you and Sheldon could compromise on this whole presentation thing.”

“No. Scientists do not compromise. Our minds are trained to synthesize facts and come to inarguable conclusions. Not to mention, Sheldon is batcrap crazy. Although I have to admit, without his lucky hunch I would never have dreamed about creating the experiment to prove the existence of super-solids.” he said while buttoning up his pants while Penny went back to his closet to rummage some more.

“What is this?” she asked surprised and took out a cool looking orange one piece.

“Oh, careful. That’s my original series Battlestar Galactica flight suit.” he explained.

“Oh, why didn’t you wear it at Halloween?”

“Because it’s not a costume, it’s a flight suit.” he answered serious.

“Okay, alright, moving on:” she said and went through his closet some more and found another piece of strange clothing. “Oh, wow, a paisley shirt.”

“Uh-huh, it goes with my corduroy suit.” he said proudly.

“If you mean it should end up in the same place then, I agree.” she picked up the only tie she found so far. “Is this your only tie?”

“Ah. Technically yes, but, if you’ll notice, it’s reversible. So it works as two.”

“Oh, sweetie, I don’t think it even works as one. Is this all your clothes?”

“Yeah. Everything since the eighth grade.”

“The eighth grade?”

“My last growth spurt.”

“Okay, well, I guess we’re back to the corduroy suit.”

“Great.” Leonard said and picked up the paisley shirt.

“I said no, put it down.” she ordered and sat down on his bed. “Seriously sweetie, I know you mostly wear those hoodies but your closet leaves a lot to be desired.”

“I know. But I never saw a reason to shop for fancy clothes. You have seen the way we guys spent our days. During the day I'm cooped up in my lab and in the evenings we're here playing video games or something else. We don't go out much.”

“Still, you should at least get something that says 'I'm not a nerd'.”

“Maybe we should go shopping together. Then you can advise me.”

“You mean it?” she asked as her eyes lit up. “I love to go shopping.”

“Then it's a date.” he replied with a smile.

“Great!” she shouted and jumped up. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him before stopping when she realized that Sheldon could come home any minute. “Okay, I have to go to my agent now. I'll pick you at at 6:30, okay?”

“Okay. See you then.” he said and gave her a quick kiss.

On her way out Penny again mentally slapped herself for not frickin' telling him. Their behavior towards each other already made them a couple. _'Please Penny, find yourself some courage.'_ she thought to herself and went downstairs.

 

When Penny entered the building again after her appointment, she found Sheldon getting his mail. Thinking that it couldn't hurt, she decided to approach Sheldon about his quarrel with Leonard.

“Hey Sheldon.” she greeted him.

“Hello Penny.” he replied

“Get anything good?”

“Uh, just the latest copy of Applied Particle Physics Quarterly.”

“Oh, you know, that is so weird that yours came and mine didn’t.” she said sarcastically and watched him give her a fake laugh after she cleared it up.

“Penny, just to save you from further awkwardness know that I’m perfectly comfortable with the two of us climbing the stairs in silence.” he said and started walking up the stairs.

“Oh yeah, me too. Zip it, lock it, _p_ ut it in your pocket. So you and Leonard…”

“Oh dear God.” he interrupted.

“Little misunderstanding, huh?”

“A little misunder…. Galileo and the Pope had a little misunderstanding.”

“Anyway, I was talking to Leonard earlier and I think he feels really bad about it.” she said and he looked at her confused. “Well how do you feel?”

“I don’t understand the question.” he replied and she could see that he really didn't.

“Well I’m just asking if it’s difficult to be fighting with your best friend.”

“Oh. I hadn’t thought about it like that. I wonder if I’ve been experiencing physiological manifestations of some sort of unconscious emotional turmoil.”

“Wait… what?”

“I couldn’t poop this morning.” he stated matter-of-factly.

 _'Gross.'_ “You should just talk to him, I’m sure you guys can work this out.”

“It’s certainly preferable to my plan, which included a powerful laxative.”

“Okay, so you absolutely should talk to him.” she said as they reached the fourth floor. “Look, I know Leonard values you as a friend, and he told me himself that without your little idea there’s no way he could have come up with this whole experiment thing.”

“Excuse me, little idea?”

“Yeah, I mean he tried to explain it to me, I didn’t really understand it but...”

“Of course you didn’t, he said little idea?” he said in his usual condescending way that made Penny furious.

“Uh, well no, no, not in… not in those words.”

“What did he say?” Sheldon said and took two steps towards her in an almost threatening manner that made her step back.

“You had a lucky hunch.” she told him just as Leonard stepped out of their apartment.

“Hey, Sheldon, I’ve been thinking, instead of arguing about this why don’t…”

“Don’t you ever speak to me again.” Sheldon burst out and disappeared into the apartment.

“What the…? _” Leonard began and looked at Penny._

“Wow he is crazy.” _she said and made screwy moves with her hand to underline her point. “Well, I'll go into my apartment now to pick out my attire for your presentation and I'll pick you up then.”_

_“ Can I watch?”_

_“ Watch what?”_

_“ You change.” he smiled and Penny grinned right back before putting her arms around his neck._

_“ Sweetie, I'd love to watch you watch me change but I'm afraid if I'm naked in my bedroom and you're there, we won't get to your presentation in time.”_

_“ Hey, I can be quick if I want to.”_

_“ I know, but I wouldn't want you to leave. So no, you don't get to watch me change today, at least not now. Tonight after our dinner is another matter if you play your cards right. No go change yourself.” she winked and shoved him towards his apartment._

 

After some consideration, Penny picked a brown, strapless shirt with a lace rim and a blouse in different shades of violet and adorned with tribal bands and flowers. The shirt was tight enough for her to forgo a bra, a fact that Leonard would surely appreciate. For her lower body she chose to wear her new thong and a denim skirt that reached her thighs. She hoped that after dinner, Leonard would come into her apartment for a special desert.

Deciding that her hair and make-up looked fine, she went into the hallway and opened Leonard's door.

“Leonard, ready to go?” he asked after she entered.

“Libido one, truth zero.” Sheldon commented but she had no idea what he was talking about.

“Okay, I’m going to ask you one more time, we did the work together, lets present the paper together.” Leonard said to Sheldon.

“And I’m telling you for the last time it’s pandering, it’s undignified and bite me.” came the sharp reply.

“Let’s go.” Leonard directed towards Penny.

“Bye Sheldon.”

“Goodbye Penny.” Sheldon said and as he looked at Leonard, he put his fingers on his temples and mimicked what Leonard had shown her before.

“Seriously, does he really think he can blow up your head?” she asked him as they walked down the stairs.

“As you can see, the answer is yes. He seems to think that high intelligence leads to telekinetic powers.”

“Boy, he is one crazy whackadoodle. Ah well, if he still tries that after you're home again, you can always sleep at my place.”

“Hm, I might take you up on that offer.” he said, put his left arm around her waist and softly squeezed her hip.

 

“Here we are.” Leonard said after he parked the car. They got out and walked towards the building. Only the fact that Leonard fiddled with his phone prevented Penny from taking his hand into hers and walking hand in hand. She did the next best thing and linked her arm through his. He smiled at her as they went into the complex and approached the front desk.

“Hello.” Leonard said to the female sitting behind the desk. “I'm Doctor Hofstadter, I'm giving the presentation today.”

“Oh yes, here you go.” she said and handed him a name tag. “It's in the Rose Room. Just walk straight and then turn right.

They followed the directions and soon came to a double door with the correct name tag next to it. People were walking past them into the room while Leonard fiddled with the name tag until he put in on his right lapel.

“No, that looks like a stain on your suit. Come to think of it, nothing looks like anything but a stain on this suit.” she said and ripped the tag off again and put it on the left lapel. It didn't make much difference. She wanted to comment how much of a better suit he was going to get when they went shopping but Raj's appearance from the Rose room made her stay silent on that matter.

“There you go.” she said instead, referring to his name tag.

“You’re right, this side does look better.”

“No, no, I didn’t say better, I said less stained.”

“I just checked the house, there’s probably twenty, twenty-five people in there.” Howard said after coming out of the Rose room.

“You’re kidding.” Leonard said shocked.

“Is that all?” Penny asked.

“All? In particle physics, twenty five is Woodstock.”

“Oh well, then good.”

“I wasn’t expecting such a crowd, I’m a little nervous.”

“It’s okay, just open with a joke, you’ll be fine.” Howard suggested.

“A joke.” Leonard said and took a deep breath. “Okay. How about this, um, okay, uh there’s this farmer, and he has these chickens, but they won’t lay any eggs. So, he calls a physicist to help. The physicist then does some calculations, and he says, um, I have a solution, but it only works with spherical chickens in a vacuum.” he finished and Howard and Raj laughed while Penny stayed silent.

“Oh, sorry, I’ve just, I’ve heard it before.” she said after seeing Leonard's gaze.

“Let’s roll.” Howard said and ushered them into the room. “Hey, nice suit.”

“It’s a classic, right?” Leonard grinned.

“I really should have brought my own car.” Penny said to herself. As much as she enjoyed spending time with Leonard, this would be one boring evening.

 

She tried to stay awake, she really did. It was fun to watch Leonard in his element, he came over as confident as anyone in his field of expertise, which again made him so hot to her, it was almost unbearable. Yet half an hour into the presentation she dozed off. Her head fell to the side and landed on someone's shoulder and in that moment, she couldn't remember who was sitting to the right of her.

She was roused from her slumber by arguing voices and after lifting up her head again, she saw Leonard and Sheldon on the floor, fighting. To her amusement, it looked like a cat fight, with Sheldon even complaining about Leonard's fingernails.

“Is this usually how these physics things go?” she asked Howard.

“More often than you’d think.”

After a few more seconds of scuffle, Leonard got up and hurried out of the room, leaving Sheldon lying on the floor. Penny quickly followed him, primarily to make sure he was okay but also because he was her ride home. She found him outside the building in the parking lot, stomping to his car.

“Leonard, wait up.” she called after him and he slowed down. “Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay? He does this every time.” he replied and leaned against his car, hanging his head. “I'm sorry but I have to take a rain check on our dinner, I'm not in the mood anymore.”

“It's okay.” Penny said disappointed. She had been really looking forward to a romantic evening with him but his mood truly didn't allow for that. “Wanna go for frozen yoghurt instead?”

“I'm lactose intolerant.”

“They have dairy-free options.”

“Okay then.” he agreed and both got into his car, driving off just as Sheldon came out of the building and waved for them to stop. He ignored him and followed her directions to the closest mall and soon enough both were enjoying a cold treat.

“What will happen now?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“With your findings? With you and Sheldon? Anything?”

“Well, the findings were already out there, no idea what anyone might do with that. And knowing Sheldon he'll probably point out how unreasonable I was and continue on like always.”

“Isn't that frustrating?”

“Of course. But it's my lot burden to bear. I must have killed and eaten babies in an earlier life.” he mused and finished his frozen yoghurt at the same time as her. They got back into his car and drove off towards their apartment block. During the drive, Leonard took his right hand off the steering wheel and softly squeezed her thigh just above the knee where the skirt didn't cover it. Penny only smiled and put her hand on his, intertwining their fingers and keeping it there as long as possible.

The drive ended way too early. The went up the stairs in silence, their hands still together. After reaching their floor, Leonard took his hand away from hers to get his keys.

“Thanks for coming with me, Penny. I'm sorry that the dinner didn't work out.”

“It's okay. But I'm not letting you off the hook. You owe me a dinner and I'm still going to get one.” she said grinning.

“I can do that.” he smiled back and softly kissed her. “Bye Penny.”

“Bye Leonard.” she replied and both went into their respective apartments. Penny kicked off her shoes and sat down on the couch, enjoying the silence of the room. She heard keys working in a lock and assumed that Sheldon had reached home. Not two minutes later, a ruckus from the stairwell told her that probably Howard and Raj had reached Leonard's apartment as well but as to what they wanted she couldn't care less. As far as she was concerned, the only person over there she wanted to see wore glasses. She sighed once more when she heard a message arriving on her cell.

**Hey girlfriend, already given up on Leonard and ran into the arms of someone else?**

_ 'What the hell?'  _ Penny thought as she read Cheryl's message.  ** What are you talking about?  ** she sent back.

**Just got a Facebook alert. You have been linked to a picture on Howard Wolowitz' page**

Frowning, Penny opened Facebook and Howard's profile. Sure enough, there was a new picture. It was her sleeping with her head on his shoulder, a creepy grin on his face. So it had been his shoulder she fell asleep on.

“That son of a bitch.” she said and got up. That guy would get an earful.

“Howard, would you like to explain to me why your Facebook page has a picture of me sleeping on your shoulder captioned 'Me and my Girlfriend'?” she yelled at him after entering 4A.

“Uh-oh, here comes 'the talk'.” was his only reply.

_ Instead of answering, Penny mimicked Sheldon's behavior and acted as if she wanted to blow up his head with her mind. He seemed to get the message as his face fell and he slunk back into the chair. She noticed Leonard's smile at the situation and was happy that she had at least cheered him up. _

_“ If that picture is still up there in five minutes, I will come back here and shove an ice pick so far up your ass that you can crush ice with your mouth.” she shouted and stormed out._

_ She slammed her door shut and flopped back down on the couch. She grabbed her phone again to clear up the confusion. _

_ **That creep. I went with Leonard to a presentation he gave and fell asleep on Howard's shoulder. The picture should be down soon. If not, I promised to hurt him. ;)** _

_ **LOL. So all is well on the Leonard front? Is you lending him to us still a no-go?** _

_ **Oh yes, it so is. And don't you dare make a sleazy comment to him when he's at the CF** _

_ **Don't worry, we'll keep quiet. But seriously, you should rethink it. He seems to be too good in bed to be only there for you :D** _

_ **Tough luck. I found him first :P** _

_ Penny put down her phone and leaned back into her couch when someone knocked at her door. _

_“ Who is it?” she shouted._

_“ Leonard. Can I come in?”_

_“ Yes. It's open.” she said and the door opened to reveal Leonard who had, thank god, changed out of his suit and into his usual attire of shirt and pants but without a hoodie this time._

“Just wanted to make sure you're okay. You seemed pretty upset.” he said and sat down beside her.

“I'm fine. I won't give him the satisfaction of upsetting me. At least not so far that I'd throw things in anger when I'm alone.”

“He's taken the picture down already. Also, you were right. This suit looks amazingly awful when you're not in it.” he said and saw her questioning look. “Howard recorded my fight with Sheldon and posted it on Youtube. Pretty embarrassing.”

“Sweetie, it wasn't a fight, it was more a scuffle. Also, it looked like two girls fighting with all those attempted slaps.” she laughed.

“More like a nerdfight. Have you ever heard one of the fighters utter the phrase 'Vulcan nerve pinch!'?” he grinned back. “But hey, as soon as we make it to a shopping tour, you can select a better suit for me.”

“Oh great, we're still on for that. I feared that you had lost interest in that.” she said and spread out on her stomach, her lower legs resting on his lap. He wasted no time and started to massage her feet and calves which quickly had her softly moaning.

“Oh that feels good.” she sighed.

“Yes, you're most important body parts must be relaxed.”

“My most important body parts are my feet? How come?”

“Well, without them, you would have no legitimate reason for buying all these shoes.” he said and softly pinched her big toe, an action that made her giggle.

“Careful Leonard, if you insult my shoes, I won't let you know what type of underwear I chose today.”

“Really?” he asked playfully and let his hand wander up her left leg. It quickly disappeared under her skirt and he gave an appreciative hum when he found no fabric covering her cheeks.

“You like what you are feeling?”

“Yep. Lets see what you chose to wear.” he said and quickly pulled down her thong, to her complete surprise. She turned around on her back and looked at him with a look that was a mixture of shock and arousal as he looked the the piece of fabric in his hands. “Oh, that looks new. And see-through.”

“Bought it just for you.” she grinned.

“Aw, thanks but I don't think I look good in one of these.” he replied which made her laugh out loud. He put her underwear aside and and continued to massage her lower legs and feet while occasionally looking at her abdomen from the corner of his eye.

“If you want you can look. You don't need to sneak a peek.” she said and pulled up her skirt a few inches. She grinned when his eyes went wide but it turned into satisfied moan when one his hands glided up her leg and over her center.

“What are you doing?” she asked playfully.

“I'm just playing around.”

“Really? So no further plans?”

“Well, we have to choices now. One, I stop and leave you alone. Or two, I open my pants and we relieve some of the stress of the day.” he said with a wink.

Instead of answering, Penny looked at his intense gaze for a minute before standing up. He watched in confusion as she went to her apartment door but smiled when she locked it. She turned back around and he saw her eyes dark with arousal. She slowly walked back towards him and opened the belt, button and zipper of her denim skirt before letting it fall to the ground.

She didn't pause in her step and walked over to him, bending down at the waist to open his zipper as well. She grabbed his already hard manhood and freed it from its constraints. Giving the tip a quick kiss, she climbed on her couch and without another word sank down on him. Both moaned loudly at the contact as they kissed.

She placed her feet to the left and right of him and started to move up and down. Slowly at first but speeding up quickly, she soon bounced wildly on him. Their lips stayed connected as Penny screamed her orgasm into his mouth. She stopped bouncing and proceeded with a grinding movement on him. He stopped the kiss and pulled her blouse off her and freed her breasts from her brown undershirt.

“You're not wearing a bra.” he stated the obvious and took her left breast into his mouth, sucking on the nipple and running his tongue around her areola. Penny groaned at the double sensations and pressed his head harder into her chest.

She lifted herself up and climbed off the couch. Smiling at his confused look, she turned around and spread his legs before sitting down on his manhood again. She started grinding back and forth, the position allowing for more stimulation of her g-spot and she groaned loud once more. She leaned back into his chest and turned her head towards his.

“Oh Leonard I love these positions. And now, think unsexy thoughts. Golf or baseball or whatever works for you.” she ordered and leaned back forward again.

“Why?” he panted.

“Because I want this to last as long as possible.” she said and started to bounce up and down wildly. The feeling of his manhood gliding along her tight walls combined with the stimulations of her g-spot every time she slammed down made her climax again after only a minute. She slowed down a bit to ride it out but her attempts to prolong it were hampered by the fact that Leonard had put his right hand between her legs and started to rub er clitoris again.

She spread her legs a bit to give him easier access and managed to pick up her speed again. The triple stimulation of his manhood hitting her g-spot fifteen times every ten seconds, his hand rubbing her clitoris in sync and his other hand rubbing over her nipple made Penny's walls clench once more and she knew that another climax was rapidly approaching.

What she didn't imagine was what actually happened. Instead of the usual amazing feeling that was an orgasm, every muscle in her body tightened. Her legs lifted themselves from the floor and her body went rigid before an explosion of endorphins made her grab a pillow and scream loudly into it. Her body kept shaking hard and Leonard had to grab her around the waist so she wouldn't fall to the floor while both her arms were pressing the cushion into her face to muffle her still ongoing occasional screams.

It took almost two minutes for her to calm down enough for her to hold herself up. She realized that she was still sitting on his hard manhood, he had been aware enough to hold her tight to him.

“Penny, are you alright? Are you in any pain?” he asked worried.

“No, everything's fine.” she replied with a shaky voice that sounded almost like a sob and leaned back into his chest, slowly grinding on him to keep him hard.

“What happened?”

“Leonard, the most amazing thing.” she panted hard, still having the occasional twitch. “I had a double orgasm of sorts.”

“Is that possible?”

“Mmhhh, must be. Your little soldier and hand doing it so good that I came twice in rapid succession.”

“Again with the word little.” she said with a grin and shake of his head.

“Sorry. But you must finish too.” she said and got up, immediately missing the contact. She pulled him into the bedroom and closed the door.

“Why in here?” he asked.

“Because.” she started, got on her knees next to her bed and laid her upper body on the bed. “I want you to do me from behind hard and fast until you come. And out there the slap of skin on skin might be audible for someone in the hallway.”

“As you wish, my lady.” Leonard said and got behind her. He pulled off his pants and shorts and positioned himself behind her before he entered her with a moan. He grabbed her shoulders to hold her in place while he pounded into her ferociously. Penny screamed her delight into her comforter and even then it was almost as loud as the sound of their bodies slamming together.

He kept the pace up for six minutes before he released with a sound that sounded like a bear. As he was lying on her back, panting hard, she felt his sweat dripping down on her neck but she didn't care. She had had two more orgasms and wouldn't be able to stop smiling even if a home invader came into the room now.

“Leonard?”

“Yes?”

“If I were religious, I'd thank God every day that you found those positions. I want you to do one of them every time we do it.”

“Is that an order?” he asked and Penny could hear the grin in his voice.

“You bet, mister.”

“It's Doctor. But I will happily comply. If I were religious I would thank God that he made you. And I'd love for you to ride me every time we do it. You look so amazing when you're on top.”

“I will happily comply.” she repeated his sentence and felt him roll off her. “Come on, Doctor, lets take off your shirt and mine and get into the shower. Then you can go back to your whacky roommate.”

As they stood embraced under the spray of water, their loofah'd hands gliding over each others backs, Penny hummed in content. Today had marked the second time that Leonard had initiated the sex and it had once again been mind-blowing.

But one thing made her anxious. At his presentation today she hadn't understood one word of the material he had presented. It had again fueled her inferiority complex and wondered if he saw more in her than just a living sex toy.

_'One day my love.'_ she thought.  _'One day I will be able to tell you how I feel. And then I hopefully won't have to let you out of my arms after we make love.'_ She just hoped that when this day came, he would want her to stay in his arms despite her intellectual shortcomings. Maybe she should follow Cheryl's advice and look for college courses that interested her.

But for now, she closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the contact with the man that had somehow stolen her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done with that one. Hope you liked it ;)
> 
> Review please :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, me again :) I have written this one in two hours, sitting in the common room of my building while the electricians were busy with laying the new cables in my apartment. And those morons drew the plans wrong and put the new phone jack in the wrong place. After the story got deleted, I took some of your criticism and reworked the chapter a bit. For everyone who has already read it, you might notice the differences.**

**But still, enjoy :)**

****Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of the others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended** **

 

* * *

 

“Really?” Penny shouted into her cellphone in a volume that surely made her agent flinch on the other end of the line. “How come?... Yes, I still want to... Yes... When is it?... But that's in less than an hour, I need go get there... Okay, bye.”

She hung up the phone and danced into her bedroom to get dressed. Finally, a role to play! After months of unsuccessful auditions she had a part in a play. And although she was only second choice after the girl the director had picked dropped out, she didn't mind. After putting on a strapless shirt over her black top and some sweatpants, she packed some nicer clothes into her gym bag and ran out of her apartment.

She loudly sang the lyrics to one of her songs while skipping down the stairs. She couldn't believe her luck. This could be the big break she had been hoping for all those months. _'If all goes well, I will have amazing celebration sex with Leonard after the showcase.'_ she thought to herself. She continued singing when she saw the backs of Leonard and Sheldon reaching the lobby. “Hey guys, hi! Where you going?” she asked them, still skipping happily down the stairs.

“What?” Leonard replied flustered, as if she had caught him rifling through her underwear drawer. “Oh we just had to… mail some letters and _..._ throw away some chicken. _” he said and Penny watched in confusion as Sheldon slowly walked to the trash bin and very carefully placed the bag he was holding into it._

“You’ll never guess what just happened.” she asked them excitedly.

"Oh, I give up.” Leonard replied with a smile that made her heart warm again.

“I don’t guess.” Sheldon piped in. “As a scientist I reach conclusions based on observation and experimentation, although as I’m saying this it occurs to me you may have been employing a rhetorical device rendering my response moot.”

“What was that?” she wondered to Leonard who had turned his head towards his roommate.

“Believe it or not, personal growth.” he said and turned back to her. “What happened?”

“Alright, remember when I auditioned for that workshop production of Rent, but I didn’t get it and I couldn’t figure out why?”

“I have a conclusion based on an observation.” Sheldon started.

“No you don’t.” Leonard quickly interrupted. “No he doesn’t.”

“Well, the girl they picked to play Mimi, she dropped out and they asked me to replace her.”

“Oh, congratulations, what a lucky break.”

“It’s not a big deal, just a one night showcase, but they invite a lot of casting people and agents so, you never know.”

“I think I know.” came from Sheldon again who was promptly interrupted once more by Leonard.

“No you don’t. He doesn’t.”

“It’s this Friday at eight, you guys want to come?” she asked.

“No.” both immediately replied together.

“Because…. uh, Friday, we are attending a symposium on molecular positronium.” Leonard slowly explained after seeing her facial expression.

“I think that’s a week from Tuesday at six.” Sheldon interjected.

“No, it’s this Friday, at eight.” Leonard confirmed.

“Oh, too bad, well, I got to get to rehearsal, see you guys.” Penny said and left the building, singing once more. She barely heard Leonard saying goodbye.

_After a twenty minute drive, she arrived at the small theater. And small was really an exaggeration. The audience chamber looked like it held fifty people max and the stage wasn't that good either._ __'Ah what the hell, a job is a job.'_ _ _she thought to herself and entered. She was greeted by a burly guy in his late forties._

_“Ah, it's Panny right?” he asked._

_“It's Penny, actually.” she corrected._

_“Very well. You have your lines memorized?” he inquired and she nodded. “Great, then go change and get into position, we start rehearsal in ten minutes.”_

_She did as she was told and after changing met the rest of the cast. It was a nice group of people, enthusiastic, some a bit overeager. The man who played her love interest, Roger, was a problem though. For one, he looked at her as if she was destined to be in bed with him and second, he had a big problem with halitosis. Either that or his meals consisted of raw animals that had been dead for a week. The thought alone of having to kiss him made her almost gag. The only bright spot was Clara, the woman who played Maureen. She at least appeared very professional._

_This would be a hard role to play..._

 

* * *

 

_“ _Mmmmh. Leonard, don't stop.” Penny sighed and pushed her hips up while she pressed his head harder against her throbbing center. He tongue ran over her nub, setting off little explosions of pleasure inside her brain. As her orgasm washed over her, she bucked up her lips to get the maximum amount of friction.__

__She watched him lift his head and smile at her. Smiling back, she turned around on her stomach and spread her legs a little, inviting him to do her most favorite position. She smiled even more in anticipation when she felt him getting behind her. Only a second longer and she would feel him inside her again..._ _

_She was jerked awake by the sound of three knocks in rapid succession followed by someone calling her name. Furiously, she jumped out of the bed, quickly donning her robe. As she heard a second set of three knocks, followed by Sheldon's voice calling her name again, she realized that her nipples were pretty hard and visible under her white top. Just as she reached the door, Sheldon did a third knocking-calling combination. She checked her clock and realized that the lanky physicist had yanked her out of a hot dream and her bed a six in the morning._

_“_ Good morning Penny.” he greeted her after she had opened the door.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” she asked him incredulously.

“Of course I do. My watch is linked to the atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado. It’s accurate to one tenth of a second. But as I’m saying this it occurs to me that once again your question may have been rhetorical.”

“What do you want?” Boy, she was really getting fed up with him.

“Remember how Leonard told you we couldn’t come to your performance because we were attending a symposium on molecular positronium?”

“I remember symposium.”

“Yes, well, he lied.” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Wait, what?” she asked, not believing what she just heard.

“He lied, and I’m feeling very uncomfortable about it.” came his reply.

“Well imagine how I’m feeling.” she told him and looked into the distance. Of all the things she valued about Leonard and that made her fall for him, his honesty was always in the top five. Yet here Sheldon stood, telling her that Leonard had flat out lied to her to avoid coming to her showcase. She felt betrayed. She had begun to trust him implicitly and now this.

“Hungry? Tired? I’m sorry this really isn’t my strong suit.” Sheldon said. Right, he didn't understand the finer points of human emotions.

“Why did he lie to me?” she asked quietly.

“It was to protect me.”

“What?”

“On Friday, I have to go to an intervention for my cousin Leopold but he also goes by Leo.”

“An intervention?”

“Yes. He recently escaped rehab again and is now holed up in a run down motel in Long Beach. And Leonard has to drive me there.”

“Then why didn't you two just tell me this instead of letting him make up all this symposium stuff?”

“Because I'm very uncomfortable with other people knowing that there's someone in my extended family who is riddled with drug problems.”

“What's Leopold like?”

“He's a middle child. Therefore his parents never gave him the attention he wanted and he tries to compensate for that by doing drugs.”

“I can relate, my brother has this problem as well...” she started but she was interrupted by him.

“I'm not interested in the tales of myth and meth of Nebraska. This is about me. Have a nice day.” he said and without another word returned to his apartment, leaving her speechless at her door.

During the next two days, she barely saw Leonard or any of other the guys. Between his job and her shifts, she spent her evenings at the theater, rehearsing the showcase deep into the night. During their second rehearsal, she took Ronan, the guy who played Roger, and told him that if he wanted to kiss her during the play, he should start chewing lots and lots of breath mints, otherwise she would refuse to do it.

Despite her reluctance to be around him, he still tried to get her to come home with him, one evening going so far as to trying to get into her car as she was about to drive home at one in the morning. She had calmly reminded him that she had mace in her pocket, a bat in her trunk and a Nebraskan upbringing. Thankfully he got the hint and from then on left her alone.

Unfortunately, most of the other actors were bad. A few were downright horrible. Some couldn't hold a tune for more than a second, others couldn't act to save their life. One had so far slapped every female and some of the males on the ass at least once, receiving a slap in the face each time, except for hers, she had always managed to turn her butt away from him every time he came near her. She hoped that any potential casting people in the audience on Friday would try to watch everyone of them individually instead of evaluating the performance of the entire play.

Now it was Friday, two hours before the start of her showcase. She stood in front of her mirror, finishing up her make-up and hair. It was too bad that Leonard wouldn't be able to come see her play but a drug intervention took precedence over most things. She could relate to that, they had often done that for her brother a few times when she had still been living with her parents.

She grabbed her purse and her keys and went out in the hall. She looked at the door to 4A and on a whim, went to and knocked on it.

“Oh hey Penny” Leonard said after opening the door. “Wow, look at you, all ready for your showcase, you look great.”

“Thanks.” she replied and meant it. Compliments by him always meant more to her than from others. “I just wanted to come by and wish you guys luck with your symposium.”

“Oh, well, thank you.”

“You know, I got to tell you, a lot of friends would let their friend go alone, but that’s not who you are, you are the kind of guy who stands by a friend when… when he has a symposium to go to.”

“I don’t know what to say.” he said and she could see that he was getting more confused than grateful.

“It’s okay, Leonard _.” she said and hugged him tight. She relished the chance to be able to do that without having to conceal it from others. He wordlessly accepted the hug and held her tight as well. She could stand her like this for hours but she had a showcase to go to._

“Oh boy, group hug.” she heard the voice of Howard who just had arrived at the apartment.

“Nuh-uh!” Penny lifted one finger in a threatening manner and the engineer backed away.

“Okay. So what’s up?” Howard asked instead.

“Well, uh, Penny is on her way to perform in a one night showcase production of Rent, which we are unable to attend because we are going to a symposium on molecular positronium, given by Dr Emile Farminfarmian.” Sheldon explained.

“Wait a minute, Farminfarmian is speaking and you’re Bogarding the symposium.”

“Howard, I’m sorry… we’re… we’re...”Leonard started but was interrupted by Howard.

“No, no, you’re quark-blocking us.”

“I don’t know what to say!”

“No, it’s okay, it’s your Millenium Falcon, you and Chewbacca do whatever you want to do. Me and Princess Leia here will find some other way to spend the evening.” Howard said, pointing to Raj.

“Howard, wait. Sheldon, I think we should tell them.” Penny interjected and Sheldon agreed. “There’s no symposium, Leonard lied to me, isn’t that right Leonard.”

“Well… I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s okay, I do. Look, Leonard is helping Sheldon through a family crisis, he made up the whole story about the symposium with Dr Farmin..farm…ian?

“Good for you.” came from Sheldon.

“Hah, yeah! Because he didn’t want Sheldon to be embarrassed, and there is nothing to be embarrassed okay, every family in America has a relative holed up in a garage somewhere huffing paint thinner.” she explained and saw Raj whisper into Howard's ear.

“No, I’m lost too, I think she skipped a step.” he answered to whatever question Raj had asked him.

“No, look, Sheldon’s cousin Leo escaped rehab, and he’s in a Motel 8 at Long Beach, the whole family’s going out for an intervention. Leonard is driving Sheldon down there to help him through this because he’s such a good man.” she explained and hugged Leonard once more to feel his body against hers. “Alright you guys, good luck.”

“Thanks Penny.” Leonard said and reluctantly let her go.

“Yeah, uh, break a leg.” Howard and Sheldon called after her as she left.

 

* * *

 

Penny got into her car and checked her phone. She still had an hour until showtime so she could take her time to get there. As she was contemplating to contact Cheryl to see if she wanted to watch the play, she saw the guys leaving the apartment building. They all got into Leonard's car and drove off. She smiled once more. Leonard really was a great guy for doing this for Sheldon, despite all their differences.

 

* * *

 

Penny sat in the back of the stage, enjoying the break between acts. The evening hadn't started well, only a dozen people had shown up to watch the show and during their third song the first two had left.

She looked around the curtain and saw that five more people had gotten up and left, leaving only five remaining in the audience.

_'That's kind of depressing.'_ she thought. For her first role in anything, she had imagined something small but this was downright brutal. But she still had a job to do. She would give it her all and hope for the best. Another minute later, the curtain lifted again for Act 2.

During her first kissing scene with Ronan's character, she realized that he had at least kept his promise and loaded his mouth full of mints every time his character was silent. For all his attempts though, the kiss left a horrible aftertaste in her mouth, as if someone had stuffed socks, that had marinated in sweat for a week, into her mouth. She managed to get through the rest of the play, running to the dressing room during a scene without her character to rinse her mouth. After the play, she would have to do that a lot more.

An hour later, the play was over and she stood hand in hand with the rest of the cast on stage, basking in the applause to the two remaining audience members, barely managing to keep the smile on her face.

Her smile went from forced to genuine when she cast her glance around the audience chamber once more and saw a familiar bespectacled figure standing in the back, clapping softly with a slight smile on his face and looking only at her.

_'He's here! I can't believe he's here! But if this is what my acting career is going to be like, I should just quit now.'_ she thought and walked back to the dressing room to get changed.

“Well, that was a bust.” Clara, who had played the role of Maureen, stated.

“Yeah. But hey, a job is a job.” Penny replied.

“Still, this is a textbook example of bad preparation. Bad venue, no advertising beyond what is hanging inside the venue and a cast that has more enthusiasm than talent.”

Penny wondered if Clara was talking about her in particular or about all the others. Should she ask her? Or would that appear needy?

“You want to come with us and get a drink?” Clara asked her.

“No, I'm heading home, I'm pretty beat.”

“Very well then. See you another time.” Clara said and left. Penny finished changing into the clothes she had brought with her and left the theater.

When she reached the parking lot, she saw the familiar figure from before standing next to her car. She jogged over to him and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

“You came!” she shouted excitedly and kissed him. “When did you get here?”

“Yes. I felt bad about saying no and dropped the guys off at Raj's so he could drive them to Long Beach. I came in during the second act.”

“But what about the intervention?”

“Uh...” he started, thinking if he should tell her that is was a lie. “They can go there without me and if they get him to leave the motel there, they have at least space in the car. So, you want to go get a drink somewhere?”

“I'd love to but I'm pretty beat. Can we go home?”

“Sure. But you'll have to drive yourself or one of our cars has to stay here.” he said.

“I think I can manage to get home.” she said and they separated to get into their respective cars.

On her way home, she thought about Leonard again. Her thoughts often wandered to him during times when she did something mundane, like driving or waiting tables. Usually her thoughts were centered around what he was capable of in the bedroom, how he could leave her a quivering mess of flesh just by using his tongue and fingers. Or how soft his hands were.

But sometimes, her thoughts went into directions that surprised even her. She envisioned them living together, waking up in his arms every morning. Her wedding day, something she had thought about a lot over the years but in those instances, there was certain bespectacled groom. She even had thought once about ten to fifteen years down the road and in that fantasy she was a successful actress, married to Leonard and had two smart and beautiful kids.

She still couldn't believe he actually came to her showcase. She had accepted the fact that he wouldn't be there. But to have seen him there made her heart warm once more. He really was a great guy.

After parking her car, she stepped out and looked up, seeing no light coming from the guys' apartment, so Sheldon and the others were apparently still away. She got out of her car and met Leonard at the door. Hand in hand they walked silently up the stairs until they reached their floor.

“I would love to invite you to a glass of wine but I'm dead on my feet. I hope you won't be disappointed.” she said.

“No, it's okay. Since I don't know when Sheldon is going to be back and might be hard to explain what those noised from your bedroom meant when he sees me exiting your apartment.”

“Leonard, I suggested to invite you to a glass of wine and not a romp in the sack.”

“What can I say, I'm an optimist.”

“Good night Leonard.” she said and kissed him once more before going into her apartment. After her shower, she went to bed with a smile. At least the evening hadn't been a complete bust.

 

* * *

 

The morning after she woke up a little early, 8:30 in the morning. She brushed her teeth and got dressed in dark pants and an orange shirt before heading out to the guys' apartment to see if they were successful in their endeavor. She knocked on their door and was greeted by Sheldon.

“Hey, how did the intervention go?” she asked him.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to convince him to go to rehab.” he replied.

“Well, based on what you told me, I’m not surprised.” she said and for some reason, his facial expression turned smug and he turned to Leonard who just hung his head.

“But we did convince him to leave the motel. Come say hello. Leo, this is Penny, our friend and neighbor.” Sheldon introduced the third guy in the room, who was dressed in a white shirt and denim west, his appearance disheveled.

“Hi Leo, how are you feeling?” she asked him.

“Let me ask you something, Penny.” he started. “Have you ever woken up in a fleabag motel, covered in your own vomit, next to a transsexual prostitute?”

“No.”

“Then don’t ask me how I’m feeling.”

“Well, that’s Leo.” Leonard interjected. “Hey, um, why don’t you tell me about the rest of your showcase last night, the parts that I missed?”

“Oh, it was okay I guess, wasn’t a big turn out, started with a dozen people but ended with you and two others.”

“That was it?”

“By the end? Yeah.”

“Damn you, Chaplain Horrigan!” Leo suddenly shouted, which startled Penny.

“I’m… I’m sorry?” she asked.

“The Philippines. 1992. The Subic Bay Naval Station. A young boy on the cusp of manhood. His only companions mongrel dogs and malarial mosquitoes. Desperate and alone he reached out to a man who promised to introduce him to a merciful, loving God, but who instead introduced him to a gin pickled tongue shoved down his adolescent throat. What choice did he have but to drink, shoot and snort his pain away.”

Penny was flabbergasted. This was the most heartfelt expression of anguish she had ever seen. If he was an actor, he would be amazing in dramatic roles.

“Don’t forget his genetic predisposition towards addiction.” Sheldon said to Leo, who turned around and soon enough, both were arguing about some studies.

“As you can see, detoxing can get pretty ugly, let’s give them some privacy.” Leonard suggested.

“Yeah. Hey, do you want to come over to my place, have coffee?”

“I'd love to.” he smiled.

“I have a video of the entire showcase from last night, do you want to see it?” she asked.

“Gee, why wouldn’t I?” he answered in a defeated manner, that sounded almost ironic.

“This is even better than you just coming to the showcase and watching me, because now I get to watch you watch me.” she grinned.

“Yeah! Funny how things work out.”

 

* * *

 

"So, how did you like the complete thing?" Penny asked after the show on the tape was over. Leonard looked like someone who had to suffer torture for information.

“Well...” he started, looking for words what wouldn't hurt her feelings too much.

“Come on, spit it out. Tell me the truth.” Penny ordered.

“Um... well... you were energetic and really into it.” Leonard ventured, hoping it was enough.

“And how did you like my singing?” she asked and watched his face fall as if he had dreaded that question.

“Uh... you know, acoustic beauty is always different in the ears of a listener...”

“Leonard!” she snapped and got up from the couch to glare down at him.

“You know, the tape really doesn't convey the...”

“LEONARD!”

“It was horrible!” he said and sank into the couch with his eyes closed, his face turned as if he expected her to hit him.

Penny stood there, unsure about how to feel about what she just heard him say. She had expected maybe some criticism but to hear him say what he said was shocking.

“You really thought it was horrible?” she asked and sat back down on the couch.

“The acting itself? No.” he started and she smiled at this response. “But the singing. Let me quote Sheldon from the other day, when we met you on the stairs on your way to the first rehearsal. He said “if cats could sing, they'd hate it too”. And as hard it is for me to admit that, I have to concur with his assessment, even though I would have chosen the words that were less harsh.”

He dared to look at her and saw her staring at him. He couldn't tell from her glare what was going through her head right now. Any second now she would jump up and slap him silly before throwing him out of her apartment and telling him never to come back. He fully expected her to. But then to his surprise she did something really unexpected.

She threw herself at him. She jumped onto his lap, her legs to the left and right of his hips and kissed him, circling her arms around his neck and pushing herself against him as hard as possible. He was massively aware of his outfit, having been pulled into her apartment to watch the videotape still in his boxers, shirt and robe, and what reaction her being on his lap kissing him like that caused in him. After a minute she broke the kiss but remained on his lap with her hands on his chest.

“Thank you.” she said sincerely.

“Um, your welcome? Although I had expected a much different reaction.”

“Did you think I would punch you and throw you out?”

“Yeah, along those lines.”

“You know.” she started, bringing her hands back around his neck. “Every single time that I have asked a guy about something I did, they always said I did great. You're the first one to ever tell me I suck at something.”

“I bet all those guys thought that if they compliment you on that, you'd sleep with them. Guys do everything they can to get a girl into bed.”

“Hey, what do you call what we did so many times over the last few months?” she asked while playing with his locks and grinding slightly into his groin, feeling his manhood getting even harder under her ministrations.

“I could say that I didn't need to lie because I already had the pleasure of pleasuring you and getting pleasured by you. But really, I'm too uncomfortable with lying to you. Also, when you yell at me, it's kind of scary.”

“Really? You don't seem to be scared when I yell at you in bed.”

“Well, in there you're not really yelling at me but rather because of me and that's more sexy than scary.” he said, pointing at her bedroom.

“Really? You like it when I scream?”

“Well, yeah. Only when it's in pleasure and I'm responsible for it though. I don't think I could bear to hear you scream in pain or anguish.”

_'So, does that also mean you couldn't bear to hear me scream in pleasure if anyone else but you is responsible?'_ she thought. “Well, going by the salute your big friend down there is attempting, do you want to hear me scream in pleasure again?”

“Oh, I certainly would. But aren't you afraid that Sheldon could hear you should he enter the hallway?”

“I still have my screaming pillow.”

“You have a screaming pillow?”

“Others might call it a regular pillow but hey, I use it quite often to muffle my sounds.”

“It's certainly less painful for me. I don't mind you biting my shoulder to do that though, as long as you don't draw blood.”

“Oh come on, that happened once and it was only a drop.”

“Still, I had to hide your teeth marks for two days.”

“Leonard!”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to have sex with me now or not?”

“Let me think about it.” he said and saw her glare. “Yes.”

“Alright Mister, just for that you need to be punished.”

“Come on, punishment again?”

“You did say my singing sucks.”

“Ah well, your idea of punishment isn't really that bad.”

“Really?” she asked, pulled a rubber band out of her pocket and swirled it around her finger.

“Come on, not the rubber band again.”

“Oh yes, the rubber band again. And this time, you're doing the work.” she said and climbed off his lap to pull him into her bedroom.

“Oh? And what do you plan to do?”

“Me?” she smiled seductively. “Well, I will get naked, get on my stomach and wait for you to enter me. And you're not allowed to stop or take off the band until I tell you.”

She followed her words with action and took off her clothes before lying down. She heard him get naked as well and with put on the band with a groan, before he climbed into bed as well and got behind her.

“You really love this position, don't you?” he asked as he rubbed his hand over her center, making her moist.

“Yes. You're always hitting my g-spot and I have a lot of orgasms. By the way, I want at least a dozen of them before you're allowed to take the band off.”

“A dozen? You're quite modest, aren't you?” he grinned, his hand still moving over her folds.

“Shut up. And now get going, I need you inside me, now!”

“Your wish is my command.” she heard him say and then there was only pleasure as he entered her and pounded her g-spot to the first orgasm.

 

* * *

 

“OH GOD!” she shouted as her twelfth orgasm cursed through her, achieving the dozen she had demanded.

She quivered on the bed, feeling him collapse on her back, breathing hard. When she had done the rubber band punishment the first time, she had been the active one, riding him hard for an thirty minutes. He on the other hand took his time, alternating the speed between fast and slow, always speeding up when he had felt her climaxing.

Now, an hour after him first entering her, she was unable to speak for a minute, her throat sore from the screaming into her pillow. He was draped across her back, still inside her, and she could hear his labored breathing. She was a bit concerned about the wheezing sounds that accompanied his breaths.

“Leonard, are you okay?” she panted.

“My asthma is acting up, I think I need my inhaler.”

“Do you have one here?”

“Yes, in my robe pocket.” he answered and pulled out of her, climbing out of the bed and to where his robe had landed. He took out his inhaler and used it twice for good measure before climbing back into bed. All the while he was upright, Penny had watched him move, involuntary licking her lips when she stared at his still hard erection. After he was prone on his back again, she lifted herself up and moved to his waist. She slowly pulled the band off and threw it on the nightstand.

“You gave me a dozen, you're freed now.”

“Thank god!” he groaned and slunk even deeper into the cushions.

“But you still need to finish.” she said smiling.

“I can't really move anymore.” he sighed.

“Don't worry, I still have to honor my part of our promise to each other.”

“What promise?”

“Remember? I want that position we just did for an hour every time we do it and you want me on top.”

“Oh right.” he grinned as she climbed on top of him, grinding her folds over his manhood while his hands started massaging her breasts.

She lifted herself up and grabbed between her legs, guiding him to her opening and sinking down. She started going up and down, her breasts bouncing in synch with her movements, something Leonard told her that he loved. He lifted himself up and took one of her nipples into her mouth. She changed her movement to a grinding and not a minute later, she heard Leonard groaning loudly as he spilled inside her.

He collapsed back on the bed and she climbed off him, using a paper towel to catch anything that might drip out of her. She got in bed next to him and cuddled into his chest, kissing his chest and side of his neck.

“Penny?”

“Yes?”

“As much as I love those long sex sessions, I don't think we should do that very often.”

“Agreed. Damn, I'm going to be sore tomorrow.” she sighed.

“I'm sorry. But I'll be sore too.”

“Don't be. It's the good kind of sore. As uncomfortable as it might be, I love that feeling after a night with you.”

“Okay, good. But truthfully, I don't like that feeling. But since it's there because of you, I gladly bear it.”

“Uh, nice save.” she grinned. “What do you want to do now?”

“I should head back, Sheldon will wonder where I am. As far as he knows, you just invited me for coffee and watching your video so he will expect me to be back.”

“Do you have to? I want to stay naked with you.”

“If you want, you can come over with me. Sheldon would just wonder why you're not dressed.”

“Ha ha, very funny. As if I would go naked to your place if there's even a chance that Howard might barge in.”

They got up and Leonard put his boxers, shirt and robe back on while Penny chose a blue blouse and a denim skirt over her underwear.

“Why have you put on different clothes than before?” Leonard asked after she was done, giving her legs an appreciative glance.

“I like how you look at my legs.” she smiled back at him.

They went over to find Sheldon at the kitchen table and Leo sitting in Sheldon's spot. The TV was running and Sheldon looked like a lost puppy when he looked at them.

“Leonard, why are you walking so funny? And why did we hear Penny scream a few minutes ago?”

“Um, Penny and I had an argument and she accidentally hit me in the groin.” Leonard started.

“Yes and that's why I screamed in shock.” Penny said, picking up on Leonard's story.

“Very well.” Sheldon accepted the lie.

“I'm gonna go get dressed.”

Penny sat down next to Leo and watched the TV with him. They chatted a while and as Leonard exited his bedroom, dressed in his usual combination, Leo put his head on her shoulders, a move that draw a stare from Leonard who was now standing with Sheldon at the kitchen table.

She pursed her lips towards him in the hint of an air kiss and saw him give her a smile which she returned. _'Please be patient Leonard.'_ she thought. _'Hopefully I will soon be able to prove to you that we're perfect for each other and to tell you how I feel. Then it can be your head on my shoulder while everybody around us watches. And I can kiss you whenever I want.'_

 

* * *

 

**Yay, I finally managed to stay below 6500 words :D**

 

**Review please :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Me again :) Finished another episode. Hope you like it ^^**

**Disclaimer: The usual**

**Enjoy :)**

 

“Yes daddy... yes, the flight was fine, nothing happened... I'm almost home, the cab just pulled up at my building... yes, I love you too. Tell mom I love her too.... Yeah, bye.”

Penny hung up the phone and got out of the cab while the driver took her luggage out of the trunk. She paid him the fare and entered the lobby, dragging the luggage up the stairs and cursing once more her landlord who didn't seem to give a crap about the broken elevator.

She reached her apartment and put the luggage in her living room. She could unpack later, for now she had her sweet neighbor to visit, although she was still a bit miffed about him lying to her so he wouldn't have to visit her showcase. He did make up for that partially by making her a quivering mess of flesh again, thanks the the rubber band she has stored away in her drawer. She knocked on the door to 4A and entered without waiting for someone to answer the door.

“Hi guys.” she greeted Leonard and Sheldon.

“Hey!” Leonard said enthusiastically.

“Did you get my mail.” she asked him.

“Yeah, right here.” he replied and brought her a stack of envelopes and magazines. “How was Nebraska?”

“Oh, better than North Dakota!” she said with a grin while both Leonard and Sheldon looked at her with confused expressions. “Guess that joke’s only funny in Nebraska.”

“From the data at hand you really can’t draw that conclusion. All you can say with absolute certainty is that that joke is not funny here.” Sheldon said in his usual manner.

“Boy, it’s good to be back.”

“How was your family?” Leonard inquired.

“Ugh, it was the worst trip, everyone got sick over the weekend.”

“Sick?” Sheldon said shocked and stood up before running to the opposite side of the room.

“Here we go.” Leonard mumbled, loud enough for Penny to hear.

“What kind of sick?”

“Oh, the flu I guess.” she told him.

“I don’t need you to guess, I need you to know, now when did the symptoms first appear?”

“Maybe Friday.” _'Boy, what has him so riled up?'_ she thought.

“Friday, was that morning or afternoon?”

“I don’t know...”

“Think woman, who blew their nose and when?” Sheldon demanded.

“Sheldon, relax.“ Leonard interjected and Penny inwardly thanked him. “She doesn’t have any symptoms, I’m sure she’s not contagious.”

“Oh please, if influenza was only contagious after symptoms appear it would have died out thousands of years ago. Somewhere between tool using and cave painting, homo habilis would have figured out to kill the guy with the runny nose.”

“Penny, you’ll have to excuse Sheldon, he’s a bit of a germaphobe.” Leonard explained to her.

“It’s okay, I understand.”

“Thanks for your consideration, now please leave.” Sheldon flat out said.

“You’d better go before he starts spraying you with Lysol.” Leonard warned.

“Okay, well, thank you for getting my mail.” she said and turned to go before turning back. “Hey, could you come over and help me set up my laptop with Skype? My parents asked me about video chatting, they got a laptop too.”

“Sure, no problem. Lets go.” he said and before they could leave, they heard the hissing sound of a pressured aerosol being released. They shook their heads when they saw Sheldon spray the air in front of him with Lysol.

“Seriously, what is the matter with him?” she asked after they closed the door.

“He's afraid of getting sick. And frankly, I am too. He turns into a little kid and demands constant attention. All day it's “Bring me soup, bring me this, rub stuff on my body”. Once he made me take his temperature.”

“That doesn't sound so bad?”

“Really? Before he got the tympanic thermometer so he can measure it himself in his ear, he insisted on rectal temperature readings.”

“You're kidding!”

“Unfortunately not.” he said sadly.

Penny opened her apartment door and led him inside. She waited until he was inside and closed it again. Leonard sat down on the couch and waited for her to give him her laptop. She picked it up and placed it on the table but before Leonard could pick it up, Penny swung her legs around him and sat down in his lap. She pressed her lips to his, invading his mouth with her tongue and this time, it took him only a second to react.

“Mhhh, I missed this.” she said after breaking the kiss.

“Me too.” he replied and let his hands wander down her back to her butt but before he could squeeze it, she stood up again.

“No no, I'm still mad at you for lying to get out of my showcase.”

“Oh please, I apologized and I showed up at the end. You also gave me a punishment, remember? And I explained it.”

“I do believe that you rather enjoy my idea of punishment. Also, you could have said something before.”

“What, tell you that your singing isn't good right before you go to rehearsal?”

“You're not making this situation better. And for now, my legs remain closed. Now set up my laptop.”

“Yes dear.” he said sarcastically and started to work. Thanks to his experience, it took him only five minutes to properly set up her system. After Leonard had finished, he started the program and added the contact information of her parents she had given him. To their surprise, the request was promptly granted, indicating that her parents were currently online and sitting at their notebook. Penny didn't waste any time to call.

“Hey daddy.” she said after her father's face appeared on the screen.

“Hey slugger.” came the reply. Leonard was about to silently get up and leave but Penny held him down and pulled him closer.

“Daddy, this is Leonard, my neighbor. He helped me set up my system.”

“How are you son.” her father's voice greeted him.

“Good afternoon, Mister....” Leonard started to say.

“Please call me Wyatt. So you are Leonard? I heard a lot about you.”

“Really?” Leonard asked.

“Yeah, Penny talked about you non-stop.” Wyatt said and Leonard saw Penny blush. “I learned more about you during the last week than about her former boyfriend in four years.”

“Daddy, where's mom?” Penny started, desperately wanting to interrupt her father from revealing any more embarrassing stuff.

“She's still at the stables. If you stay home, you can talk to her in about two hours.”

“I'm at work by then. I'll try tonight or tomorrow morning. Bye daddy.” she said and quickly closed the connection.

“So, you have been talking about me non-stop, huh?” Leonard smugly grinned.

“Shut up.” she replied and playfully punched his arm.

“So tense. Somebody needs some relaxation.”

“I said no sex for now. Beat it mister.” she replied and poked out her tongue at him.

“I was thinking more of a massage.” he started, got up and moved towards the door. “But since you want me to leave, good bye for now.”

“Wait, a massage does sound great.”

“No, you want me to leave. Until later.” he said and opened the door.

“Please, I even get naked.”

“Maybe later. Bye.” he said and closed the door.

“You're a mean tease Leonard Hofstadter. You just wait.” he murmured to herself and went into her bedroom to get her uniform for later.

 

Penny once again had an amazing dream involving her and a certain bespectacled physicist when she was roughly awakened by the sound of her apartment door opening and close. Quickly becoming alert thanks to the adrenalin coursing through her veins, she grabbed her bat and headed into the living room to bring a world of hurt on whoever came into her apartment. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Leonard standing with his back against the door.

“Leonard? What are you doing here at...” she started and looked at her wall clock. “6:30 in the morning?”

“Shhh. Sheldon's sick.”

“So?”

“I'm hiding so he doesn't find me. He called me before I came in and I told him I'm at work.”

“Okay, it might be because it's the middle of the night, but why?”

“It's 6:30 in the morning.”

“As I said, middle of the night. The question stands, why are you hiding from Sheldon?”

“Because he's sick.”

“Let me rephrase the question. Why are you hiding from a sick Sheldon?”

“Because when he is sick, he's an even worse pain in the ass than usual.”

“Really? It can't be that bad, can it?”

“You have no idea.” Leonard said and got his phone.

“Who are you calling?” she asked but Leonard just waved instead of answering her.

“Hey Howard. Code milky green... yes, with fever...Howard... no, don't!... I tried to stop you... yeah. You call Raj,  we need to find a place to lay low for the next eighteen to twenty-four hours...hm, Planet of the Apes marathon sounds great, that's five movies with two hours apiece. It's a start. _When does the first one start?... Uh hu... No, I'm hiding out in Penny's apartment... No Howard, she's not naked.”_

_ Penny rolled her eyes at that but decided to have some fun. She stood in front oh Leonard, took off her top and started bouncing on her feet, enjoying the look of surprise in his face. _

_“ Well, she just took her top off and is bouncing up and down... Of course I'm kidding and even if I wasn't I wouldn't take pictures for you... Yeah, I'll see you at ten in front of the movie theater... bye.” Leonard hung up the phone. “You're mean, you know that?”_

_“ I know. But I'll go get dressed now.” she grinned and went into her bedroom._

“ _Can I watch?”_

“ _Not today.” she said from the bedroom and closed the door._

 

“Homeless crazy guy at table eighteen.” Cheryl said to Penny as she passed her. Penny looked at the table in question and saw Sheldon sitting there, dressed in winter clothing, blowing his nose.

“No, just crazy.” she muttered to herself and walked over to him. “Sheldon, what are you doing here?”

“I’m sick, thank you very much.”

“How could you have gotten it from me, I’m not sick.”

“You’re a carrier. All these people here are doomed. You’re doomed!” he shouted around the room.

“Shhh! Sheldon, what do you want.”

“I want soup.”

_“_ Why didn’t you just have soup at home.”

“Penny, I have an IQ of 187, don’t you imagine that if there were a way for me to have had soup at home I would have thought of it?”

“You can have soup delivered.”

“I did not think of that. Clearly febrile delirium is setting in, please bring me some soup while I still understand what a spoon is for.”

“Okay, what kind of soup do you want.”

“Well, my mother used to make me this split pea with little frankfurter slices and these home made croutons.”

“We have Chicken Tortilla and Potato Leek.”

“Can I get any of those with little frankfurter slices and home made croutons?”

“No.”

“Then surprise me.” he told her and as she walked off, she saw him blow his nose and show the mucus to the people at the neighboring table. She gave an order of soup to the cook and went to get her phone. As much as Leonard wanted to hide, he had to come get him. She hit the speed dial and heard it ring several times.

“Hello, this is Leonard, I'm currently not available, please leave a message.”

“Damn you Leonard, now you have to mute your phone.”

“Sheldon, why don't you go home and have soup delivered?” she suggested after returning to his table.

“I can't. If I take the bus again I will probably fall unconscious and get taken by the Mexican cartel, so they can harvest my organs and sell them to the highest bidder.”

“Okay, that won't happen.”

“How do you know? Have you ever ridden the bus while having a deadly disease?”

“Sheldon, you're having a cold, not a terminal sickness.”

“What do you know, are you a doctor? Now bring me my soup!”

She went to the kitchen and got his soup that thankfully was ready. As she watched him eat, she once again tried to call Leonard.

“Hello, this is Leonard, I'm currently not available, please leave a message.”

“Crap.”

Ten minutes later, Penny had taken Sheldon's dishes back to the kitchen. Unfortunately, Sheldon didn't move and refused to leave the Cheesecake Factory.

“Penny, isn't that one of your friends?” Carl, the morning manager asked her. She didn't like Carl, he was always arrogant towards the waitresses, more or less the opposite of Mike.

“He's my neighbor.”

“Can you try to get him to leave? He's done eating and we need the table.”

“I tried but he's paranoid. He thinks he'll die on the way home or something.”

“Then you get him home. I'll not let some crazy guy scare away customers.”

“But my shift isn't done yet.”

“It is now.” he said and left her standing there.

“Dammit. Sheldon you asshole.” she muttered and went to the tall physicist to get him home.

 

“Thanks for bringing me home.” Sheldon said as they reached their floor.

“Oh, it’s okay, I didn’t really need to work today, it’s not like I have rent or car payments or anything.” she said sarcastically.

“Good. Good.” he replied, not understanding sarcasm once again.

“Okay, well, you feel better.” she said and started to walk to her apartment.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“Home, to write some bad checks.”

“You’re going to leave me?”

“Sheldon, you are a grown man, haven’t you ever been sick before?”

“Well, of course, but not by myself.”

“Really, never?”

“Well, once. When I was fifteen, and spending the summer at the Heidelberg Institute in Germany.”

“Studying abroad?”

“No, visiting professor. Anyway, the local cuisine was a little more sausage-based than I’m used to, and the result was an internal blitzkrieg with my lower intestine playing the part of Czechoslovakia.“

“And there was no-one there to take care of you?”

“No. No, my mum had to fly back to Texas to help my dad because the house had slipped off the cinder blocks again.”

“Again?”

“It was tornado season. And it was an aluminum house. Anyway, the housekeeper in the faculty residence didn’t speak any English, when I finally managed to convince her I was sick, she said “Möchtest du eine Darmspülung?””

“What does that mean?”

“Based on what happened next, I assume it means “would you like an enema?””

“Okay, I’ll take care of you, what do you need?”

“Well, my mom used to give me sponge baths.”

“Okay, ground rules, no sponge baths, and definitely no enemas.”

“Agreed.”

She took him inside and he went into the bathroom to wash himself. Penny chose to remain outside, really not wanting to see him naked and went into the kitchen area to prepare some hot tea and crackers for him. She heard him come out of the bathroom and go into his bedroom. She went in behind him and placed the tea and crackers on his bedside table.

“Okay, here's tea and crackers. Now get some sleep. I’ll see you later.”

“Wait. Will you please rub this on my chest.” he asked and handed her a bottle of Vaporub.

“Oh, Sheldon, can’t you do that yourself?”

“Vaporub makes my hands smell funny.“

“But Sheldon…” she started.

“Please, please, please, please, please, please, please.” he whined.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” she said and started rubbing the viscous liquid on his chest.

“No, no, counter-clockwise or my chest hair mats.”

“Sorry.”

“Can you sing Soft Kitty.”

“What?”

“My mom used to sing it to me when I was sick.”

“I’m sorry, honey, I don’t know it.”

“I’ll teach you. Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur, happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr. Now you.”

“Okay.” she sighed. Leonard was right, Sheldon was extremely annoying when sick. She might owe him an apology. “Soft kitty, warm kitty…”

She finished the song, and sang it again when he adamantly insisted on it. When she felt him doze off, she went outside his room and closed the door. When she turned she saw Leonard on his hands and knees crawling along the floor. He had some form of camera on his head and something in his mouth.

“Leonard, the picture is breaking up and we can't hear anything. Can you still receive us? Leonard?” Howard's voice shouting loud enough for her to hear him through the earplugs.

“You rat bastard.” she whispered.

“Hey Penny.”

“You turned off your phone so I had to take Sheldon home.”

“Do you see now why I did it?”

“Yes, but how could you do that? I lost half my shift. I needed the money for my salon appointment tomorrow. But now you can take care of Sheldon.”

“No please, don't make me. I already had to take care of him when he had his ear infection last year. I can't go through that again.”

“Tough. I'm not staying here.”

“Please Penny. I'll redeem my coupon and take you with me.”

“What coupon? What are you talking about?”

“Three months ago I won a coupon for a two-day all-expense paid weekend in a B&B with attached spa in one of these cereal box contests. I was going to ignore it because I don't do spa stuff.”

“Seriously?” she asked shocked.

“Yes. It's in my room.”

“Show me.” she said and grabbed his hand to lead him into his room. She gave him his spare glasses, while she still heard Howard yelling into Leonard's ear. He opened the drawer of his nightstand and took out an envelope, showing her the contents. Her eyes went wide when she saw the truth of his statement, a complete spa weekend for two people and it was only a two-hour drive away.

“Penny! Penny, I’m hungry again.” she heard Sheldon call.

“Uh, it’s okay, sweetie, wait a moment.” she called through the door before turning back to Leonard. “You pack some stuff, I'll be right back.”

Penny almost ran to the apartment door and ripped it open to find the shocked faces of Raj and Howard kneeling in front of it.

“Get in here!” she said in a threatening tone.

“Hell no.” Howard replied while Raj just shook his head.

“Listen you two. You have two choices now. You either go in there now or I shove my shoes so far up your asses that you can taste my shoe polish.”

The two males wisely walked into the apartment and waited in the living room. Penny pointed towards the bedroom and ushered both to the door of Sheldon's bedroom just as Leonard walked out of his with a duffel bag in his hands.

“Where are you going?” Howard asked.

“I bribed Penny so she'll forgive me but I have to go with her.”

“Yes and while I enjoy a weekend away, you two will take care of Sheldon.”

“The hell we will.” Howard said defiantly but nevertheless backed away when Penny moved towards him with fury in her eyes.

“Penny, I want grilled cheese!” Sheldon's voice called from his bedroom.

“Good news, sweetie, Howard and Raj volunteered to take care of you.” she shouted into his room. Howard and Raj looked as if she had made them drink battery acid while Leonard quickly left the bedroom area and apartment.

“That's nice of them. What about Leonard?”

“He's...” Howard started but Penny cut him off.

“He's still at work. Right Howard?” she said very menacingly again.

“Right.”

“Alright, I'm heading out.” Penny said and turned to leave.

“Howard, make me a grilled cheese. Raj, I want a foot rub.” Sheldon demanded and Penny grinned when she heard the two men groan.

 

“Okay, here we are.” Leonard said and parked the car. Penny looked out the window and saw the B&B, a beautiful moderate-sized wooden building.

“Where's the spa?”

“I think, it's behind the building. Come on.” Leonard stated and got their luggage out of his trunk. They entered through the front door and were greeted by a beautiful blond woman in her early twenties who was sitting behind the reception desk.

“Hello, I'm Clarice, how may I help you?” the woman asked cheerfully.

“Hello, I'm Leonard Hofstadter, I called about three hours ago.”

“Oh yes, Mister Hofstadter, you redeemed the coupon from the cereal box competition. You get a two-day gold experience. Be advised, the contents of the minibar in your room are not part of the expenses. Everything you take from there you must pay yourself.”

“I understand. Thank you.” Leonard said and took the keys. As he started towards the stairs, Penny saw the woman behind the counter check out his behind. Giving her an angry look, Penny hurried to his side and linked her arm through his.

When they entered the room, Penny gasped in surprise. It was beautiful. A large king-sized bed dominated the right side of the room. On the left, a huge flat screen TV sat on a wall unit connecting two closets. Penny immediately chose the larger one for her clothes. The whole room was painted in warm and calming colors. In the middle of the room towards the windows stood a small table with two chairs and there was a rocking chair a few feet away from the bed. A large window led to a balcony whose construction allowed nobody to look in from the outside.

Penny walked into the bathroom and gave a squeal of delight.

“Leonard look, they have a jacuzzi and it's even automatic.” she said and on a whim went to him and threw her arms around his neck, pressing her lips on his. “All is forgiven Leonard.”

“Do I get extra credit for whatever bad thing I do next?”

“Depends on the bad thing you do. But so far, yes.”

“Great. I think I'll go take a shower.” Leonard said and took off his hoody and shirt. He started to look through the drawers when they were interrupted by a knocking on their door. Penny went over and opened it to find Clarice in front of it. Penny saw her eyes immediately go to the still shirtless Leonard and it ignited the flames of jealousy in her again.

“Can I help you?” Penny asked Clarice and took a small step to the right, blocking the view to Leonard.

“I just wanted to bring you some towels and the schedule for the different offers during the weekend. Also, as a side note, the lights in this room can be both switched on and off manually and also by clapping your hands.”

“Thank you.” Penny gave her a sweet smile with daggers in her eyes and took the items Clarice was holding before closing the door. Leonard just walked towards her, a knowing smile on his face and took one of the towels before disappearing into the bathroom. Penny exhaled strongly, hoping that none of the activities involved the receptionist.

 

After five minutes, Leonard exited the bathroom again, with only a towel around his waist. He went to his duffel back and took out new underwear before turning to her.

“You want to take a shower too before we go?”

“Go where?”

“To the restaurant for dinner.”

“Oh, right. A shower is a good idea.” she said and took off her clothes, enjoying the look of desire developing on his face, getting more intense with every piece of clothing that dropped. She grabbed a towel for herself and sashayed into the bathroom, swinging her hips with every step, smiling when she heard him groan.

Before exiting the bathroom, she set the jacuzzi to activate in ninety minutes, so it would be full and hot when they returned. When she came back out again, Leonard was already dressed as usual minus the hoody. She dropped the towel and put on her underwear and a light sundress.

“Ready to go?” he asked and offered her his hand.

“Lets go.” she replied and took it.

 

They spent an enjoyable hour during dinner, chatting about everything and nothing before taking a stroll around the compound, looking at the various offers of recreation. Penny saw massage parlors and, making her especially happy, stables. Forest paths invited hiking trips and an artificial lake beckoned to be swam in. She knew that they wouldn't be able to take it all in but she was determined to get Leonard to the stables and on a horse at least once.

After returning to their room, Leonard grabbed two bottles of juice from the bar and offered one to Penny, which she accepted.

“So, what do you want to do now?” he asked.

Instead of answering, she opened the bathroom door and swept her arms towards the full and steaming jacuzzi, the automatic having it filled and warmed up during their absence. She smiled at him and proceeded to take off her clothes before putting her hair into a bun. She gingerly stepped into the tub and settled down with a satisfied moan. She grinned at Leonard who stared at her and, with her finger, mentioned for him to join her. He quickly got naked as well and got into the tub as well.

“Mmmhhh, this feels good.” he said and closed his eyes.

“It really does.” she replied and yelped in surprise when Leonard activated some of the jets, one of which hit her right in a very sensitive spot between her legs. “Wow, that's a really high setting.” she said with a slight tremor.

“Yeah, it seems this thing comes with three settings, low, medium and who-needs-a-man.” he grinned.

“Seriously, stealing lines from Home Improvement?”

“What the hell? You watched that show? Damn, I thought I could say something witty.”

Penny poked out her tongue at him and leaned back into the water. She immersed herself to her neck and enjoyed the bubbles caressing her skin. She opened her eyes again and looked at Leonard who had mirrored her position and enjoyed the warmth as well. In this very moment, she decided that she probably could never stay mad at him. He didn't just say that he was sorry, he actually WAS sorry and showed it by doing something romantic like this as apology.

Her former boyfriends never did something like this. They had only ever said they were sorry and Penny had always believed them, sometimes foolishly. But here she was with a man who truly made her feel special by taking her out to a relaxing weekend just because she said that she couldn't afford the salon.

Without any word, she scooted forwards and climbed into Leonard's lap, grabbing him behind the neck and kissing him. He reacted quickly, holding her by the waist and kissing her right back, his hands already starting to move up and down her back. She felt his manhood stiffen below her and helped it along by slowly grinding on it.

She quickly lifted herself up and sunk down on him, moaning into his mouth at the contact. God, she had missed this. For all her bluster in rejecting him for his lie, she had been looking forward to doing this the whole week she was with her parents. She clung to his neck and rapidly moved back and forth on him. Their lips separated and she leaned back a bit, her arms still holding him around his neck. His hands went to her breasts and started to knead them gently.

When her orgasm hit her and her walls clenched once more in that delicious fashion, she heard him groan loudly and felt him climax as well.

“Wow, that was fast.” she grinned and climbed off him.

“Well, it has been two weeks.” he replied, also grinning broadly.

“No manual release?”

“No, I wanted to wait for you.”

“Ah, that's so sweet.”

She turned around and leaned back into his chest, his arms around her stomach. They stayed like this for almost an hour before getting out, their skin starting to prune up. After drying themselves they went back into the living room and both put on their sleep attire, Leonard some shorts and Penny pajama shorts and a loose top before both climbed into the bed. Leonard sat up and leaned against the headrest. He turned on the TV and switched through a couple of channels until getting the news. Penny looked at him and scooted over to him. She lifted the covers and spread his legs before getting between them and leaning backwards against his chest like she did in the hot tub and pulled the comforter back over them.

Leonard put the remote control on the comforter and put his hands around her waist. She snuggled deeper into his chest and took the remote. She went to an OnDemand channel and chose an episode of Sex in the City.

“Please, do we have to watch this?” Leonard asked, almost whining.

“Yes, we do.”

“Fine, then we'll watch Babylon 5 tomorrow.”

“We'll see.” she grinned and gave a content sigh.

They watched four episodes together. During the second, Penny had sat up a bit more which had, thanks to the low cut of her top, made her breasts almost completely visible under it from Leonard's point of view. After she turned off the TV, she turned her head and saw his gaze glued to her chest.

“Leonard?” she tried to get his attention which he returned slowly to her. “How long have you looked down my top?”

“Since the second episode. Frankly, it was a more enjoyable view than the show.” he said with absolute sincerity.

“Okay mister, just for that I'll make you watch every episode back home.”

“If you wear that outfit, then gladly.”

“Nuh uh, I'll get a hospital gown.”

“Really? Great! They're completely open in the back. And you do have a perfect ass.”

“Pfff, you wish. I'm getting a muumuu.”

“Don't be mean.” he said and lifted her top over her breasts so he could touch them. Despite all her bluster, she by no means had any inkling to push his hands away, it felt way too good. She lifted herself into a sitting position and discarded her top completely before turning around. She pulled him down into a horizontal position and climbed on top of him until her breasts were over his head.

She sank back down and moaned as he let his tongue run around her left nipple while his right hand kept kneading her right breast. She held his head with her arms while simultaneously holding herself up on her forearms and grinding herself on his waist, her position not allowing her to do it on his crotch.

She enjoyed the feeling his tongue and fingers gave her chest. She kept moaning softly and felt her pajama shorts moisten. Wanting to get further along with the foreplay, she scooted down his body again and reconnected her lips with his. As their tongues played their erotic game, she tried to push down her shorts down as much as she could in her position. Unfortunately it was quite impossible due to her bend legs.

She stood up, reluctantly so because of the loss of body contact, and let him pull down her shorts. She stepped out of them and used her foot to flick them off the bed before kneeling down over his head. She saw him smile before his tongue connected with her clitoris and she let out a hiss. She pressed herself harder on him, wanting to get the maximum amount of contact. Their hands connected and she used them to stabilize herself as she moved her hips gently back and forth.

He softly sucked on her clit and let his tongue ran over her labia for almost ten minutes when her gentle movements became more erratic as the sweet bliss of orgasm made her twitch and moan loudly. She lifted herself up and turned around before sinking down again, relishing the renewed contact of his tongue on her folds. She pushed his shorts down his legs and without waiting any longer took his manhood into her mouth, softly sucking on the tip before taking it into her mouth completely. She alternated both movements, knowing exactly that he liked it the most when she took him all in by the way his hips bucked upwards.

She only did this for two minutes before stopping. The last thing she wanted now was him coming too early. She turned around on him again and looked into his eyes.

“Want me to ride you again?” she asked playfully, knowing exactly what the answer would be.

“Yes please.” he grinned.

“Okay but don't you dare climax. I want something after this too.”

“I know, I still remember my promise.”

“Oh that too, but another thing before that.”

“Really? And what will that be?”

“You'll see.” she said and lowered herself on his abdomen. She grabbed behind herself between her legs and guided his manhood to her opening before sinking down completely. She waited for a few seconds to get used to him and started to move. Slowly at first, she soon picked up speed almost automatically, the feeling of him inside her igniting fires in her nerve endings. Her breath became ragged and her movements lost some of her smoothness as she felt herself clench once more.

This time, she didn't continue but climbed off him and got on her hands and knees next to him. She saw his questioning look and smiled.

“Come on, my stallion. I want you to take me from behind, hard and rough. I want you to grab my hair as you hold on to me and ram your big soldier as deep into me as possible.”

“Yes ma'am.” he exclaimed with noticeable shock in his voice. He had never heard her talk like this and it really turned him on. He got on his knees behind her and entered her in one smooth motion, his hands holding her hips as he set a quick pace. He closed his eyes and concentrated on keeping his speed up while thinking about something non-sexy to prolong the act. Penny's head fell onto the cushion as her fourth orgasms of this night rushed through her.

She felt him get on his feet, the change in angle once more giving him the ability to constantly stimulate her g-spot. The telltale sound of skin hitting skin in rapid succession filled the room and just as another orgasms ripped through her, she felt him slow down and lose his movement constancy. That alone wasn't that strange but she also heard him laugh softly.

“Why are you laughing? What's so funny?” she panted after lifting her head.

“Keep your eyes open and you will see.” he said and she could hear his exhaustion.

When he sped up again she barely managed to keep her eyes open as he had demanded and when he reached a certain speed and their skin once more slammed together rhythmically, she saw the lights go off and on and off and on. Remembering that the lights in the room were connected to a clapper, the whole situation somehow was so ridiculous that she too couldn't hold back a laugh, although it was hard to laugh through her breathing while his hard piece of meat was stimulating the most sensitive zone inside her body.

He stopped once more and pushed her flat down on the bed. She realized that he had to be close to finishing and wanted to keep his promise to do her most favorite position every time they did it. One hand on her shoulder and the other grabbing her hair, he pushed into her in a fast pace, every stroke making her cry out in pleasure as the position again stimulated her hard.

“Oh god Leonard!” she shouted, the endorphins of her most recent orgasm making her unable to remain quite. “Don't stop! Don't ever stop!”

“Penny, I'm almost...” he started before she felt him lose his pace and spill inside her. He collapsed on her back and she could hear him wheeze slightly but to her delight, he didn't have to grab his inhaler right away.

“I think we have to disconnect the clapper.” he said after his breathing had returned to normal. He got up and moved towards the bathroom, grabbing a roll of paper towels and handing Penny one.

“Agreed.” she replied and cleaned herself up. They both went into the bathroom to brush their teeth and quickly got into bed again, with Penny molding herself to his body. Content, she soon felt his breathing evening out and soon fell asleep herself.

 

The next morning Penny was awakened by featherlight kisses on her neck. She smiled and turned her head to connect her lips to his in yet another good morning kiss.

“Morning.” she said sleepily and disentangled her legs from his before stretching them.

“Good morning.” he replied. “I already showered. As soon as you're done, we can go down for breakfast.”

“Really? I thought we could fool around some more.”

“Great. Then I won't have to hike or ride a horse.”

“Oh no. We're doing that.” she said and extricated herself from him before running into the bathroom.

After her shower, she dressed herself while he watched her doing it. After putting on long pants and walking shoes, she grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room and into the restaurant. They enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, Penny savoring the cinnamon taste of the coffee.

“So, according to the schedule, the massage parlor opens at two pm and horseback riding is at four. And since I don't want to subject you to a game of squash or tennis, we have the entire morning free.” Penny said, reading from the schedule. “I say we pack a bag and go hiking along the lake. Maybe we find some secluded spot and can enjoy the beach for an hour or two.”

“Sounds like a plan. Although my feet won't thank you.”

They finished their breakfast and returned to their room. Penny packed a blanket and her bikini while Leonard grabbed his bathing shorts and some bottles of water and juice from the minibar. He grabbed a bottle of sunscreen from the bathroom and they soon headed out of the building. They exited the compound through the back gate and soon entered the forest using a well worn dirt road. It sure made for easier walking than pavement. Penny grabbed his hand and smiled at him and she set a calm pace that she knew she could easily endure for hours if needs be.

After an hour of walking, Leonard started to feel the burn. He never really walked a distance like this before. His steps became shorter, the strain noticeable in his calves with every long step he took. Just as he was about to ask her for a break, Penny pointed towards the right.

“Look Leonard, there's a beach. Lets go.” she said and dragged him from the dirt road through a narrow path to a beautiful beach. Leonard had to admit, it was an amazing sight. The sand was almost white in the sun and the water a clear blue like on the pictures of travel brochures for the Caribbean.

However, even more amazing was the sight of Penny who, after spreading out the blanket and looking around, got naked to change into her bikini. She noticed his stare though.

“Your turn. Change.” she said and casting another look around, he quickly changed into his bathing shorts. Both lied down on the blanket and started rubbing sunscreen on those parts of their skin that they could reach themselves. After they were done, Penny handed him the bottle and got on her stomach.

He put his knees left and right of her waist and softly sat on her upper legs before rubbing sunscreen on her back. Penny gave a soft moan as his soft hands glided over her back, gently kneading her flesh while applying the thin layer of protection. Once he was done, he mirrored her position and held the bottle out for her. Taking the cue, she repeated what he did, letting her hands run across his back.

She soon joined him on the blanket and both were lying on their backs, enjoying the quiet and warm air. The peace of the surroundings lulled her into a light doze and when she snapped awake again, a quick glance at her watch told her that almost an hour had already passed and the sun was shining down on them.

She shook Leonard out of his own half-sleep and got up, pulling him with her.

“Lets move to the shadows.” she said and they dragged the blanket across the sand until they reached a grassy area under a tree. “Come on, lets take a swim.” she suggested and moved towards the water.

“Don't expect me to swim fast. I'm not really good at any form of athleticism. Also, I don't like it when things in the water touch me.” he said when they reached the shoreline.

“It's okay. We're not here to exercise. And the lake is artificial, according to the brochure it doesn't have any fish or other form of wildlife in it.”

They let the waves wash over their feet and to their surprise the water was quite warm. She dragged him farther into the water until the water level reached their chest. Penny began to swim, Leonard right behind her. After a few minutes of swimming the crawl, she looked back and saw Leonard doing leisurely breaststrokes. She swam back to him and guided him back to the area where they could stand.

Once she saw him standing in the water, she swam into his arms and put her lips on his.

“Thanks for taking me here.” she said and resumed the kiss. She wrapped her legs around his waist and started grinding, the water giving her enough buoyancy for him to hold her up easily. As she felt his manhood stiffen and grow, he carried her back closer to the shore until the water level was low enough for them to sit down. Penny didn't waste any time and opened the buttons on his easy access shorts before pushing her bikini bottoms aside and quickly sitting down on him again.

She put her feet down and started bouncing, the feeling of the warm water strange but enhancing her experience like it had in the jacuzzi. Leonard leaned back a bit and she kept her arms around his neck. Less than ten minutes in, she felt herself clench again and put her knees down to ride him fast to prolong her orgasm. She heard him groan and felt him climax as well but this time she felt a small pang of disappointment. She had looked forward to more sex in the water.

“This time it hadn't been two weeks.” she grinned but kept slowly grinding on his shrinking erection.

“Yeah. But you have no idea what effect you have on me when your face contorts in pleasure during your orgasm. And knowing that I'm responsible for it is extremely hot. Oh, I can cross off another item from my list.”

“What list?”

“A list of crazy things I wanted to do in life. Sex in the ocean or in a lake was on it.” he grinned.

“Ah. Anything else on there that can be achieved here?” she asked.

“Actually, yeah.” he replied and looked to the still empty beach.

“No Leonard, we're not having sex on the beach today.”

“Come on, why not?”

“Because trust me, no matter how careful you are, you will get sand in places that you really don't want to have sand in.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“Yes. And get that look off your face. I'm not saying I'm against the idea but not today. We still have plans for later. I still want to ride a horse.”

“What if you ride me some more and I make whinnying sounds?”

“You wish. Stop whining, we're riding horses today. Now come on, lets get back so we can have lunch before the massages.”

They went out of the water and changed out of their bathing attire into their regular clothes again. After packing up their stuff, they went back to the dirt road and reached to the compound close to noon, where Penny proudly congratulated herself on correctly guessing the time they would need.

They went into their room to hang up their wet clothes and towels before heading into the restaurant. Their lunch consisted of a thick vegetable soup and Leonard had to admit that it was delicious, despite his reservations to eat something that looked like somebody else had already eaten it once.

After spending another hour just cuddling on their bed after lunch, they went into the massage parlor to be welcomed by two women who introduced themselves as their masseuses. Penny's pang of jealousy was premature however when she learned that it would be a couples massage in the same room.

Although their muscles were kneaded and stroked for almost an hour, the massage ended way too soon. Lifting herself up, Penny wasn't sure if she she'd be able to stand right now. She and Leonard got dressed after getting back to their respective dressing rooms and met outside. Strolling around some more, she pulled him towards the stables despite his reluctance.

Her face somewhat fell when she saw the grinning face of Clarice standing inside the stable, feeding one of the horses.

“Hello.” she greeted them cheerfully. “Here for your riding lesson?”

“Well, I probably will spend the entire time trying not to fall off.” Leonard said apprehensively.

“How about you?” Clarice asked Penny.

“I'm quite proficient in riding horses. I learned it as a kid, my family owns some as well.”

“Great. Then you can give him some pointers as well. We have two horses ready for you, a gelding called Tito and Anna, a mare.” she said and led them to two horses already saddled and ready to go.

Penny chose the midnight black gelding while Leonard got the slightly smaller brown mare. She grabbed the rope and led her horse out, watching Clarice do that with the mare while Leonard followed. Outside she jumped into the saddle and rode it slowly around the fenced area. She watched Leonard getting into the saddle with some difficulty and Clarice explaining how to control the movement of the animal.

He managed to have it walk forward and she had to suppress a laugh when it started walking backwards while he clung to its neck. After a few minutes, he seemed to get the hang of it and led the mare in a slow trot around the yard. She watched him go faster and had it almost running before he made the sound that Clarice showed them before that made them stop.

“Penny.” Clarice called over. “Since you're an experienced rider, you want to put Tito through the paces? He loves to run.”

“Certainly.” she replied.

“Turn around and get out of the gate there. The field beyond is flat and gets checked twice a week for rabbit holes so it should be save.”

“See you later sweetie.” Penny said to Leonard and led her horse to the gate Clarice had mentioned. Once she was out, she put her feet into the horses flanks and it started to run.

Penny gave an exhilarated yell. She had missed doing this. True, she had done it last week during her visit to her parents but it hadn't made up for years of not doing it. After about thirty minutes, she galloped back towards the gate and saw Leonard and his horse doing a fast pacing gait on the field. She led her horse over to him and got beside him and together they paced and galloped over the field once more for almost an hour until it was time to head back.

After they had led their horses back to the fenced area, Penny jumped off and watched Leonard do the same with some difficulty. After he was down, he held his butt with a painful expression.

“What is it?” she asked concerned.

“My ass is killing me. It's not used to hard saddles.”

“That will pass.” Clarice piped in. “You might want to sleep on your stomach tonight though.”

“I might do that.” he said and tried to walk off some of the pain as Clarice led both horses back to the stables.

“So, she obviously showed you how to ride horses. After seeing you today, I would never have thought that you never did this before.” Penny said.

“Yeah, she's pretty good. But I think the horse was a part of it too.”

“Did you talk about anything else?” she asked and cursed the feelings of jealousy that made her ask this.

“Yeah some. She asked what I did for a living and told me she was going to college next year. She wants to be a vet.” he answered and smiled. Penny linked her arm through his and led him out of the stable, her feelings of inferiority coming back full force.

This evening, they took their dinner up to their room so Leonard could sit on a cushion on one of the chairs. After a shower they followed Clarice's advice to get warmth to his butt and sat in the jacuzzi some more, only this time without having sex in it. They still stayed an hour before climbing back out, drying off and brushing their teeth. Both dressed in their sleep attire once more and got into bed, Leonard on his stomach as proscribed.

He turned his body 180 degrees so his head was at the foot end of the bed and flicked on the TV, switching to the OnDemand channel and cursing when he couldn't find Babylon 5. Penny turned as well and lay next to him before taking the remote from him and turning on a Superman movie, much to his delight. They watched in silence as Superman once again saved the world and after turning on the bed again, they settled under the covers.

“This is getting uncomfortable, really.” Leonard said as he tried to find a comfortable position in his stomach.”

“Can't you lay down on your side?” she asked.

“Just a bit. Not completely without having pain. But it should be all good in the morning, I used the ointment Clarice gave me.” he said and her name again made Penny feel inferior. Leonard clicked off the light and despite claiming to be uncomfortable soon fell asleep. She lay awake for a while, thinking about him and if she would ever feel equal around him intelligence wise but soon fell asleep too.

 

She woke up with a start and ragged breathing. She had dreamed that Leonard had once again pleasured her long and hard before getting up and walking away arm in arm with a female scientist, leaving her naked and crying in her bed. She knew the whole sequence of events was completely ridiculous as somehow the woman he walked away with had waited in her bedroom for them to finish but she realized that the whole thing underlined her deepest fear regarding him. She couldn't stop a sob as a few tears ran down her face. Apparently, her sob was loud enough for Leonard to wake up because she heard his voice in hear ear and his arms around her body.

“Shhh, I'm here Penny.” he said and held her tight.

Penny clung to him as if her life depended on it until she calmed down enough. She let go of him and laid back on the bed while Leonard propped himself up on his elbow.

“Bad dream?” he asked her and she nodded. “Want to tell me what it was about?”

“Not really. It sounds stupid. Just hold me.” she said and turned towards him.

He did as she asked and took her into his arms, her head resting on his chest, his arm running up and down her back and drawing circles on her lower back.

“Leonard? Can I ask you something.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“During those weeks when we can't see or be witheach other, do you think about sleeping with other women? I mean, if the opportunity presented itself and one threw herself at you, would you do it?”

“Of course not.” he exclaimed.

“Okay. Why not? Don't get me wrong, you gave exactly the answer I was hoping for. But why?”

“Because it would still feel like cheating. And the last thing I want to be or feel like is a cheater.” he said and looked into her moonlit eyes. “Do you think about doing it with other men? I mean, they must throw themselves at you every time you go out.”

“They do but no. I have even rejected guys in bars for the same reason you gave.”

“Really. What about the guy that led to the whole Leslie fiasco?” he asked.

“Don't remind me. That was a mistake. But for the intervention of Frank and Alice that evening would have ended very badly.”

“Really? You never told me about that.”

“Because it's something I'd rather forget.”

For a few more minutes Penny just enjoyed being held by him. The whole situation was comfortable enough for her to make a snap decision.

“Leonard?”

“Hm?” he murmured and Penny could feel him falling asleep again.

“Can we... uh... agree to become... you know... exclusive?”

“What?” he asked, suddenly wide awake.

“I mean, promise each other to not to go out on dates or sleep with other people.”

“You mean, like dating?”

“Kind of, yeah. I don't want to fear that you might sleep with someone else because they see what a great guy you are.” she replied, thinking about Cheryl and Kim's comments of borrowing him for a week.

“Can we tell the guys?”

“We could. But...”

“But?”

“To tell you the truth, I like this clandestine stuff. It adds spice to the whole thing. It's like being on a high. Every stolen moment feels like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. I get butterflies when I see you. And admit it, the sex is amazing.”

“That it is.” he agreed. “Okay. We're not telling them.”

“Yet.”

“Yet?”

“Yeah. But only if they find it out by themselves and ask. Otherwise we keep quite and see how long your genius friends take to figure it out.” she said.

“I like this idea.”

“I hoped you would.” she said and kissed him.

When she felt him kissing back, she snaked her arms around his neck again and laid flat on her back, pulling him partly on top of her. The kiss quickly became heated and Penny moaned as one of his hands wandered down her body over her covered breasts down to between her legs. She felt herself moisten when he started to gently rub her and not two minutes later she was pulling her shorts down and her top off.

He discarded his own shorts and got back on top of her. He grabbed her knees and spread her legs before settling between them and bringing his erection over her opening. He gently entered her, a moan escaping both their throats. He put his hands on hers and she intertwined their fingers. Leonard pushed her arms upwards and held them on the bed above her head while they kept kissing all the while pushing in and out of her in a slow rhythm.

Penny felt amazing. Not only had she managed to voice her fears, he agreed to become her boyfriend in all but name. And now he was lying on top of her, pushing gently in and out and making her insides contract. This was different than anything they have done so far. This wasn't rough or fast. This was slow and giving. This was making love. Their lips only separated to draw air when their noses weren't enough. But even then their tongues stayed in contact, playing with each other instead of battling for dominance.

And for the next fifteen minutes they stayed like this until Leonard involuntary sped up, climaxing with a mighty groan and taking her over the edge with him. When she felt him attempting to get up, presumably to get a paper towel, she held him tight to her.

“Lets stay like this a while longer.” she said. “We have to shower later anyway and they also have to change the sheets in any case after we leave. For now I just want to stay like this. And later, we can spent the entire day doing more relaxing things together. Maybe I reconsider the sex on the beach thing.” she grinned

Leonard smiled but didn't say anything. He just connected his lips with hers again and as the sun came up behind the trees, its beams shone through the windows on two figures still connected in the most intimate way as if it wanted to illuminate a new stage of their lives.

 

**And done. Hope you liked my version of events after Penny discovered Leonard crawling on the floor ;)**

 

**Review please :)**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Enjoy :)** _

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.**

* * *

One month.

It has been one month.

One month since she and Leonard became exclusive partners and he gave Penny an amazing blissful week after their declaration. But then mother nature decided to intervene in their sex life for seven days. Of course it wasn't the first time that had happened but what she didn't see coming was Sheldon's week long quest to get rid of a sixteen year old boy at the university who was smarter than him. And he just had to rope Leonard into his schemes which led to him being unable to spent any lengthy amount of time with her.

She had hoped to get some time with him after this whole situation had been over but then the guys had started a team for some physics tournament at their university. And after they had inevitably kicked Sheldon out and had to compete with him, the three of them minus Sheldon brought in Lesley. Lesley Winkle! Penny had been ready to blow a gasket to Leonard for bringing someone in he slept with.

But she had refrained. She didn't want to appear too needy or bitchy and realized that Lesley wasn't interested like that in Leonard. And he seemed to share the attitude. Also, she trusted him not to do anything with her or let her do something with him.

All these thoughts ran through her head while lying awake on the bed after waking up. She didn't even went to the bathroom yet and still she didn't want to get up. She would have loved to turn to her side and have Leonard's arm around her when waking up like it had been during their stay at the B&B. Suddenly, the sound of her ringing phone cut through her thoughts.

“Yes?” Penny said into the speaker after picking it up.

“Hey girl.” the voice of Kim answered her.

“Hey Kim. What's up?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to see how you were doing, we haven't seen each other in two weeks.”

“I'm good. Very good.”

“Are you? Does this have something to do with a certain neighbor of yours?”

__'Typical.'_ _ “What if it has?” Penny asked.

“Oh well, me and Cheryl haven't given up on the whole you-lending-him-to-us thing. Sometimes I listen to the recording you made a few weeks ago and I still get jealous when I hear your screams.” Kim giggled and Penny was glad that they were on the phone so she couldn't see her red face.

“Yeah, if you get nailed by him in a certain position for an hour, you would be screaming too.”

“Wait a minute, I only have a recording of something that lasts close to over half an hour and now you tell me that there was also an hour long drilling session? You're not making your refusal to give him to us easier to accept.”

“Deal with it. I'm almost tempted to give you the one-hour version just so you can be even more envious.”

“Wait a second. You recorded that too?” Kim asked and Penny blushed once more.

__'Crap. She wasn't supposed to know that.'_ _ she thought. “Um, yes, I did. I wanted to have a memento of a great night.”

“Penny, you have to give us this recording.”

“No way. I'm still embarrassed enough that I had to do the first one for you.”

“Please. I pay you.”

“Yeah right. I will pimp myself out for someone else' acoustic pleasure. No thanks.”

“I will get that recording. We will have another girls night and when you're drunk enough, you will want to brag about how great he is and then you will show us.”

“Then I won't get drunk.”

“Oh please, when haven't you got drunk on girls night.”

“Shut up.”

“Oh, I won't. You brag about your sex life, I will keep wanting to hear about it. And of course, wanting to be part of it.”

“Yeah, as if I let you be in the same room with me and Leonard.”

“Hey, I'm not saying no to a threesome. He sounds like he could handle us both.” Kim said and Penny could hear the laugh in her voice. But she wisely said nothing as to not egg her on further.

“Kim, remember those boots I showed you?”

“Those amazingly beautiful black ones that cost more than a weeks pay?”

“Yeah. After today, I can buy them.”

“Can you afford that?”

“Barely. But I did some calculations and if I cut back on some other essentials, I can make due this month.”

“As if shoes are essentials.” she heard Kim mutter.

“Hey, for me they are.”

“Hey Penny, don't you have the lunch shift today?” Kim asked after a short pause.

“Yeah, why?”

“Because it's after eleven.”

“CRAP!” Penny shouted and cursed. “Kim, I gotta go.” she said and hung up the phone.

She jumped out of the bed and grabbed her clothing. She quickly got out of her pajamas and into her underwear before running to the bathroom to fix her make-up. After putting on the basics, she grabbed her uniform and quickly donned it, doing her hair last and exiting the bathroom. She grabbed her keys from the living room and left the apartment to find the guys in the hallway.

“Oh, hey guys.” she greeted them and saw them trying to pull some big thing up the stairs. At her greeting, both let go of the thing and it slid down the stairs, two sets of screams revealing the presence of Howard and Raj on the other side of that contraption.

“Take a break, guys.” Leonard said to the two who she could hear whimper in pain.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Oh, just, you know, moving… something upstairs.” Leonard said defensively. He still hadn't lost his shyness around her when he was with the guys. She didn't know if that was genuine or just make-believe for the other guys' benefit.

“What is it?” she asked once again.

“It’s… you know, a time machine.” Leonard replied and she could hear some embarrassment in his voice.

“Yeah, okay, neat, but I really got to get to work, so...”

“Uh, just give us a few minutes.”

“I don’t have a few minutes, I’m running really late.”

“Then I have a simple solution, go up to the roof, hop over to the next building, there’s a small gap, don’t look down if you’re subject to vertigo, and use their stairwell.” Sheldon suggested.

“You’re joking, right?” she asked but she could tell that he was serious.

“Oh, I never joke when it comes to vertigo.” he clarified.

“Damn, okay, I’ll just take the roof.” she acquiesced and started towards the stairs up.

“Hey, if you wait for us to set up the time machine, I can drop you off at work yesterday.” Leonard said and she looked at him with a confused look. “Time travel joke, it’s not… never mind.”

“For what it’s worth, I thought it was humorous.” Sheldon said as Penny went to the fifth floor. She could hear Leonard ordering them to push and hoped that the gap between buildings really was small enough for her to jump over. She wanted to buy that beautiful pair of boots that she had found in a store she had went into when she and Leonard had managed to find some time together for a walk in the park.

When she reached the roof and the edge of it, she looked at the gap and cursed. It was at least three feet wide, which in her definition was more than the small that Sheldon had described. She was sure she would make it, as failure wasn't really an option when it came to jumping from building to building with an eighty feet drop between them.

“No way am I doing this.” she said and walked back to the roof entrance to find it shut. Apparently it swung shut on its own and couldn't be opened from the outside. “CRAP!” she shouted the second time today and mentally kicked the guys for blocking the stairwell. And her landlord for good measure for not repairing the elevator.

She went back to the gap and looked once more. Steeling herself, she walked back a dozen steps and took a running start, jumping when she reached the edge. She made it but her right foot slipped off the edge and made her drop to the knee which got a nasty bruise.

“Ouch!” she yelled and cursed the guys again. When she got back she would made Sheldon jump the gap and see how he fares.

She went to the stairwell door and pulled at the handle to find it closed as well. “CRAP!” she shouted a third time today and looked around the roof for the fire escape. She found it and climbed on it, down the ladders until she reached the third floor where she saw the ladder locked. She tried to move it but it wouldn't budge and only the open windows prevented her from shouting once again.

The open window gave her an idea though. Hoping that the person or people living there would understand, she opened it completely and climbed through it, finding the surprised face of the woman who lived here.

“Hello.” she smiled. “I'm sorry but I need to get down in a hurry and the fire escape ends here.”

An older man entered the room, who she thought was the husband of the woman, followed by a young man she reckoned was about seventeen or eighteen. They all looked at her with a look of surprise.

“In America, beautiful woman come from every corner.” the husband said with a heavy eastern European accent.

“I'm sorry, I just have to cut through here to get down.” Penny said once more and moved towards the apartment door.

“Please, stay lunch.” the woman said in broken English. “You meet my son, Markow. My son good boy.”

“I'm sure he is.” Penny said. “But I really need to leave, I'm late for work.”

“No, stay here. We have lamb. Tasty. I'm Kalenka. This is Boris.” the woman said and pointed to her husband.

Kalenka grabbed Penny's hand and dragged her to the table, sitting her down before putting a fourth plate in front of her.

“Please, I appreciate the offer but I really don't have the time.” she tried once more.

“Noooo, eat with us. You can get to know Markow and have lots of children with him.”

“Okay, that won't happen, no offense.” Penny said defiantly as some pieces of lamb were put on her plate.

* * *

After the fourth course that also included lamb, Penny couldn't take it anymore. She was stuffed, she was pissed and she was very late. During the last twenty minutes she had learned too much about these people. They were from Armenia and got here six months ago. And they tried their hardest to make their son look desirable and Penny admitted that if you took away the two warts on his face, he was cute. But when they started to choose baby names for her and Markow's kids, she put down her cutlery and got up.

“Where you going? We still have four courses to go.”

“As...uh... tasty as that is, I can't, I'm sorry. I need to get to work.”

“But when Markow is rich lawyer, you don't need work. You stay home, care for your four kids.”

“Seriously, no. I'm sure your son is a nice kid but first of all, I don't ever want four kids and I already have someone I might have some kids with.” she said and that last comment surprised even her.

Before they could rope her into eating more baby sheep, she almost fled the apartment, rushing through the door and slamming it behind her before running down the stairs. She ran over to her car and drove through the Cheesecake Factory, breaking half a dozen traffic laws on the way. When she reached her destination, she jumped out of the car and ran through the employee entrance and into Carl, the daytime manager.

“Hey Carl, I'm sorry I'm late but you won't believe what happened. I couldn't get down the stairs cause my neighbors blocked it with some big thing and I had to jump to the roof of the other building where I had to eat lunch with a family whose apartment I had to crawl into after discovering that the roof entrance was locked...”

“Penny stop. I already gave your shift away.” Carl said.

“What? I was only...” she looked at her watch. “...an hour late.”

“And we needed the help, that's why I called Claudia. I'm sorry but it couldn't be helped.”

“So, I just go home?” she asked.

“Go wherever you like, you have the day off. I see you in two days.” Carl said and walked away, leaving her standing and fuming.

She went back out to her car and on the entire trip home her rage grew. Those nerdy tendencies were kind of cute and with Leonard it was endearing to the point of hot. But days like today were the days she could really put her shoes into their asses. She really wanted to get those boots but without today's pay it would be impossible.

When she went up the stairs, she barely could think straight. Before reaching the fourth floor, she looked down and saw the scrape marks of the thing they tried to push up the stairs and something in her brain mushroom-clouded. The guys would get an earful.

“Okay, first of all, what you call a gap was nearly three feet wide, I slipped and skinned my knee.” she said without preamble after walking into the guys' apartment.

“Are you okay?” Leonard asked as concerned as ever but Penny was too furious, even at him.

“Shut up! Second of all, the door to the stairwell of the other building was locked, so I had to go down the fire escape which ends on the third floor, forcing me to crawl through the window of a lovely Armenian family, who insisted I stay for lunch.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“It was eight courses of lamb, and they tried to fix me up with their son.”

“Sorry.”

“I'm not finished yet. By the time I finally got to work, they’d given my shift away. Yeah, that’s right, I’ve lost an entire day’s pay and the chance to buy those beautiful boots I wanted thanks to this… this…” she started and pointed towards the thing standing in their living room.

“Time machine.” Sheldon clarified.

“The lights flash and the dish spins, you wanna try it?” Leonard asked cheerfully, as if this would make it all good.

“No!” she shouted. “I don’t want to try it, my God, you are grown men, how could you waste your lives with these stupid toys and costumes and comic books and… and now that… that…”

“Again, time machine.” Sheldon again piped in.

“Oh please, it’s not a time machine, if anything it looks like something Elton John would drive through the Everglades.”

“It only moves in time. It would be worse than useless in a swamp.” Sheldon stated, not getting her sarcasm.

“You're pathetic. All of you, completely pathetic. _” she yelled and stormed out of the apartment._

She went into hers and grabbed a glass and a bottle of wine before flopping down on the couch. She poured herself a glass and gulped it down in one swig before pouring another which she only drank slowly. It helped a bit calming her down but not by much. She really liked Leonard and his nerdy side but today it showed her how much of a detriment it could be.

What could she do? She knew that she was still way too furious to go over there to talk to Leonard. But the last thing she wanted to happen was them breaking up over this. She needed to clear her head and fast. She grabbed her phone and got Kim's contact.

**Kim, you there?** she sent.

**Yeah, why?** came the answer.

**I need a girls night right now.**

**What happened?**

**When I left to go to work, Leonard and his friends brought a life size time machine up the stairs and I couldn't get past them. Had to jump to the other building and go down the fire escape**

**LOL**

**Not funny. Had to climb into the window of an Armenian family who wanted to fix me up with their son and stuffed me full of lamb. Had to flee when they started to choose names for the four children they wanted me to have with him.**

**So far still funny.**

**Shut up! Got to the CF and Carl sent me home. Gave my shift away. Now I can't afford the boots I wanted to buy.**

**Those cute leather boots? Holy hell, they would look amazing on you.**

**I know but now I can't afford them. I just blew a gasket in front of the guys and called them pathetic. Now I'm afraid Leonard might think it's over between us.**

**Want to come over? I call Cheryl and we can have some wine.**

**Yeah, sure. On my way.**

**Take a cab here. My sister will drive you home later.**

**See you soon.**

Penny changed out of her uniform into something more comfortable and started to clean up her apartment, at least a bit. She put the bottle away again and washed the glass before going into her bedroom to straighten out the bed. When she was done it was late afternoon. She left the apartment, went down the stairs and out of the building and she was about to call a cab when she decided that it was cheaper to walk the twenty blocks.

After fifteen blocks, the walking idea turned out to be a bad one. She had thought that all her walking around in the Cheesecake Factory had hardened her to walk long distances but at the Cheesecake Factory she didn't walk those distances all at once at a brisk pace. Even the hour long walks with Leonard at the B&B were slow and filled with breaks.

After walking the remaining distance, she finally reached the building Kim lived in. She hit the buzzer and walked up the three flights of stairs to reach her apartment. She knocked on the door and was greeted by a cheerful Cheryl.

“Hey girl. About time you got here. We waited for almost two hours.”

“Hey Cheryl. Let me in, I need to sit down.” Penny said and went past Cheryl directly to the couch. “Ah, that's better. Walking twenty blocks and then those stairs at the end.”

“Why didn't you take the elevator?” Kim asked.

“Ugh. I forgot that yours works. I'm so used to entering my building and walking up the stairs.”

“Poor girl.” Kim said and handed Penny a glass of red wine.

“Thanks.” Penny accepted and downed it in three gulps.

“Wow, take it easy girl, or you won't be able to enjoy girls night.” Cheryl said as Penny downed another glass of wine. “So, you want to tell us what's going on?”

“I told Kim already. The guys ordered something big that made me jump the roof and have lunch with an Armenian family who were picking out baby names for the kids their son would soon have with me. Then I got to work and found out that Carl had called Claudia and given her my shift. Now I can't buy those boots I wanted because I planned out the expenses of the month and today's pay was an important part of it.” Penny exclaimed and downed her third glass. By this point, she had drank three glasses of wine in quick succession plus the one she had had at home and she had become quite tipsy.

“What then?” Cheryl asked.

“When I came back home I directly went to the guys and told them off, calling them pathetic, all of them because they waste their time with comic books and games and time machines and such. And now I haven't had any contact with Leonard and I'm afraid he might leave me.”

“Can he leave you? What kind of relationship do you have right now?” Kim asked.

“Um, we agreed to become exclusive. But we won't tell his friends because it adds spice if they don't know. And we want to see how long it will take them to figure us out. But it has been almost three weeks since the last time we had sex. Only in the week after the B&B. Then mother nature prevented us and after that his roommate stopped anything we could have done.”

“Really? That sucks. But the relationship thing is great. How long since you decided?”

“A month, give or take. Cheryl, remember when you told me about the homeless crazy guy in the Cheesecake Factory?”

“Yeah, why?”

“That was Sheldon, my neighbor. He was sick that day and he gets annoying, and I mean really annoying, when he's sick. Anyway, Carl had sent me home that day so I can get him out of there because Leonard had muted his phone. After putting him into bed and having to rub Vaporub on his chest...”

“You had to rub stuff on his chest? Can't he do that himself?” Cheryl interrupted.

“No, because, in his words, and I quote, “Vaporub makes my hands smell funny” and of course he badgered me. After he finally dozed off, I left the room and found Leonard on his hands and knees on the floor with a camera on his head. His glasses had broken in the movie theater and he tried to get his spares without alerting Sheldon.”

“Why didn't his other two friends get his glasses for him?” Kim interjected.

“Because they didn't want to enter the apartment, for the reason I gave you. Moving on, I told Leonard about the salon appointment I would have to miss because of the missing pay from that day and was about to alert Sheldon to Leonard's presence when Leonard offered me to take me with him to an all expense paid, two day spa weekend.”

“He took you to a spa weekend??” Kim and Cheryl asked simultaneously while Penny downed her, by now, seventh glass of wine, making her moderately drunk.

“Yeah, it was the greatest thing. He had won a coupon in a cereal box contest and offered me the second spot as a bribe. Naturally, I accepted a weekend with my sweetie and threatened Raj and Howard into helping Sheldon. And the spa was amazing. Hiking, horseback riding, a great beach, great food, the bed was amazing and the bathroom had a jacuzzi.”

“I bet the sex was great too.” Kim said with a smile.

“Oh you bet.” Penny agreed. “We did it on the bed, in the jacuzzi, in the lake and on the second day on the beach, but don't ask about the sand, and in the bed again and we kind of broke the rocking chair. In the night from Saturday to Sunday I had a nightmare where I dreamed that Leonard left me with another woman in his arms right after having sex. After I woke up and he held me, I felt content and comfortable like never before and asked if he wanted to be exclusive. And he agreed! And then we had sex and it was one of the best I ever had.”

“That's so sweet and romantic.” Kim said. “Did you do your one-hour drilling session there?”

“Ha ha, drilling session. What a funny word.” Penny giggled after she had downed her eighth glass of wine. “No, that was after my showcase of Rent.”

“Really? How did that come about?” Cheryl asked.

“Well, although he had lied so he wouldn't have to watch it, he later changed his mind and came during the second act. I was so glad to see him but too tired to actually do stuff with him that night. The next morning, I showed him a video of the entire thing and I asked how he liked my singing.”

“What did he say?” Kim asked.

“He told me that I sang horribly. And I was so thankful for his sincerity. And his honesty also kind of turned me on as strange as that sounds. So I decided to punish him.”

“Really?” Kim said and placed a saltshaker, a bowl of lime wedges and a bottle of tequila on the table. “Tell us all about it.”

* * *

“You know, I had the rubber band idea before.” a very drunk Penny said laughing to the amusement of her friends who knew that they would get the good information from an inebriated Penny. “It was the recording you already heard. I told him that I would ride him so hard that the tip of his manhood would start glowing. I didn't quite achieve that and collapsed after thirty minutes. Then he wanted to finish and I told him he should take care of that himself. But instead of using his hands, like I intended him to do, he did me from behind for five more minutes and made me come twice more.”

“Yeah, we heard that. We're so jealous.”

“You should be. After the showcase, I punished him again with the rubber band but this time I just l lied down on my stomach and let him do me from behind in my favorite g-spot position. One hour! One hour girls. Twelve orgasms and I couldn't speak anymore for a few minutes. If my pillow had ears, it would be deaf from all the screaming I did into it.”

“Peeennnnnyyyyy.” a very tipsy Cheryl whined. “I want him in my bed too. Don't be a nerd hog.”

“Nuh-uh. He's mine, I love him and I will keep him. I will marry him and have lots and lots of sex with him and then have his children and have lots and lots of more sex with him until we are old and gray. Then I will only think about sex with him, except if the world of medicine makes it possible to have lots and lots of more sex in our old age.”

“Penny, you love him?” an equally drunk Kim asked surprised.

“Want to hear the second recording? Then you can become even greener with envy.” Penny continued, not even hearing Kim's question or even realizing what she had just said.

“Yes, we want to.” Cheryl piped in.

“Here, it's saved on my cell. Look in the folder named “failed auditions” and there the subfolder named “Scripts”.

“Penny, it says here I need a password.”

“Yeah, it's Leonard.” Penny murmured and fell asleep.

“Oh, she used his name as password, that's so sweet. Hey, there are pictures of her in this folder too. Salacious pictures. Wow, look at her, we did a really good job getting her drunk.” Cheryl said.

“Yeah, it's mean but hey, I told her that would happen. Now lets hear what she and her sex-machine did.” Kim said and pressed the play button.

* * *

“Jesus Christ!” Kim stated after turning off the recording.

“My god.” Cheryl agreed. “How can she still walk? Or talk?”

“How can HE still walk? You heard him say it, he has asthma.”

“What do we do now? I'm so turned on right now, I could go to his apartment and beg him to take me as he is taking her.” Cheryl said, pointing to the sleeping form of Penny.

“You heard what she said about her feelings for him. Do we really want to interfere in her relationship? I have rarely seen her so happy.”

“I know. I guess we should stick to innuendos to pick on her when he's not around. But we should also not tell her what she said tonight you know, the stuff about marriage and kids. You know how Penny is when it comes to commitments.”

“Agreed. But we should get her home now. I will call Lexi and she'll take her home.”

* * *

When Penny woke up, she was being half-dragged into her apartment. She managed to get her head up a bit and sat Kim's sister Lexi holding her.

“Hey Lex.” she slurred to the young woman.

“Hey Penny. Come on, we're almost there.” Lexi said and managed to get Penny into her bed.

“Can you give me a few glasses of water?”

“Sure. But a few? Are you that thirsty?”

“No, but my boyfriend Leonard taught me that drinking lots of water can help you against hangovers in the morning.” Penny slurred.

“Okay, wait here.”

Penny started to fumble with her clothes to get out of them. She managed to get out of her pants and got her shirt over her head before she got stuck.

“Lex, can you help me? I can't get my shirt off.”

“Wait.” she heard Lex say and then the sound of a glass being placed on the nightstand before two more hands took the shirt off her body. Penny grabbed her Hello Kitty pajama bottoms and a shirt and, with Lexi's help, managed to put them on. She grabbed the water and downed it with four gulps. Lexi brought her another and Penny repeated the process.

“Okay, you're all set. Can you manage yourself?”

“Yes, thanks Lex.” Penny said drunkenly and promptly fell asleep. She didn't feel Lexi tuck her in and also didn't hear the apartment door close.

* * *

 When Penny woke up, she only had a slight headache, unlike some other times she woke up after a girls night. She hurried into the bathroom to relieve the intense pressure that had built in her bladder during her sleep. She got of the bathroom and went into her living room to make some much needed coffee. She grabbed a magazine to pass the time while the coffee was running through the machine.

“None shall pass!” she heard Sheldon's voice shout from the hallway. Still in her pajamas, she went to the door and opened it.

“What the hell’s going on?” she asked the guys. Sheldon was holding a replica sword and barred the way to the stairs.

“You hypocrite!” the lanky physicist shouted at her.

“What?” she asked confused.

“Little Miss “grown ups don’t play with toys”. If I were to go into that apartment right now, would I find Beanie Babies? Are you not an accumulator of Care Bears and My Little Ponies? And who is that Japanese feline I see frolicking on your shorts? Hello, Hello Kitty!”

“Okay, okay look, if this is about yesterday, Leonard, I am really sorry about what I said, I was just a bit upset.” Penny told Leonard.

“No, I needed to hear it.” Leonard said, still with his sad expression.

“No you didn’t. Look, you are a great guy, and it is things you love that make you who you are.”

“I guess that makes me large breasts.” Howard interjected and received an eye roll from Penny.

“Still, I think it’s time for me to get rid of this stuff and… you know… move on with my life.” Leonard said in a defeated voice.

“Really?” she asked and she especially didn't like the way Leonard said the stuff about moving on. For some reason, she feared that he didn't refer to his stuff.

“Yeah.” came the sad reply and he barely looked at her.

“Oh. No. No no no. Leonard, we need to talk.” she said and looked at the group. Four pairs of eyes were looking at her. One of those pairs was looking at her chest and it was not Leonard's. “In private.”

“Okay.” Leonard said hesitantly and followed Penny into her apartment.

“Look, Leonard.” Penny started after she had closed the door and he had sat down. “Why are you really doing this? This stuff is what makes you... well... you.”

“That might be but yesterday showed me what this stuff can do in terms of human interaction...”

“Leonard, before you start explaining, know that I have a slight hangover, so use short words please.”

“What I'm trying to say is, I bought a life-sized time machine because I was too eager to look at the noted size in the auction and it caused our relationship to end only a month after it had really begun. And it made you furious enough to call me pathetic.” he said sadly.

“Leonard, I was mad. Remember that gorgeous pair of black leather boots that I showed you?” she asked.

“Those ridiculously expensive ones? Yes.”

“They are not THAT expensive just because you buy shoes for twenty bucks. And I really wanted to buy those. But to do that I would have needed today's pay. Which I didn't get because I had to eat a lot of lamb and fend off a coupling attempt.”

“I'm very sorry.” he said and she knew that he meant it.

“Wait, back up a minute.” she suddenly realized something with a sinking feeling. “What do you mean, it caused the end of our relationship?”

“Well, you were so mad at me, stormed out and ignored my messages. The unfortunate conclusion would be that you decided to end our relationship.”

“You messaged me?” Penny asked and took her cellphone to find quite a few messages from Leonard. They all were apologetic in nature. “Oh sweetie, I didn't see them because I was at Kim's for a girls night. And they got me pretty drunk. So drunk in fact that I fell asleep and have some serious memory loss regarding the end of the night. I don't even remember who brought me home, I only know it was a woman.”

“Okay...”

“Leonard. We had a fight. This isn't a break up. If you break up with someone after a fight, you'll never have a long relationship.”

“Well, I never had a long one.”

“Come here.” she said and pulled him into her arms. She hugged him tightly and kissed him, which he quickly reciprocated before leaning back with a look of slight disgust. “What is it?” she asked.

“Don't get mad at me but after a night with a lot of alcohol, you have terrible morning breath.”

“Shut up.” she said and playfully pushed him away. “I was too out of it to brush my teeth last night.”

“Yeah, I can tell.” he grinned.

“Just for that I won't do what I had just thought of.”

“Which was?”

“Oh, I was gonna use my terrible-morning-breath filled mouth around your stiff buddy down there.”

“Really? I'd really like that.”

“Too bad, you blew it. Now I will drink some more water, go to the bathroom to pee a lot and then return to bed and sleep the rest of the hangover off. Now get out, we'll talk later.”

“You're a mean tease, you know that?” Leonard said as he moved to leave the apartment.

“I know. But your shenanigans cost me a gorgeous pair of boots that I would have worn for you with nothing else on so... ” Penny said and poked out her tongue at him while shaking her ass at him before disappearing into her bathroom. She grinned as she heard him groan before the sound of her apartment door closing told her that he had left. She took some aspirin and drank two more glasses of water before relieving herself and going back to bed.

* * *

When Penny woke up again it was already dark outside. After cursing about the wasted day off, she went into the bathroom to once more relieve her body of the excessive fluids and finally brushing her teeth before taking a much needed shower.

Yawning, she walked into the living room to make herself some coffee. _'Boy, I slept all day and still I'm tired.'_ she thought and that was when she saw the box on her couch, neatly gift-wrapped with a red ribbon. Frowning, she went to the box and saw a note on it. She picked it up and saw the words scribbled on them in Leonard's handwriting.

_Penny, to show you how much more you mean to me than any of my memorabilia, I sold my share of the time machine to Sheldon and got you a little present._

Smiling at his generosity, she put the note down and unwrapped the box. The box itself was plain beige and gave nothing away of the content. Gingerly, she used a pair of scissors to cut open the duct tape and opened the flaps to reveal a pair of black leather boots.

“Oh my god.” she said quietly as she took out the footwear.

“Oh my god!” she exclaimed louder as she saw how gorgeous they were.

“OH MY GOD!” she screamed when her still sleep ridden mind finally realized that those were exactly the expensive, gorgeous black leather boots she wanted to buy but couldn't.

She couldn't believe it. Leonard actually bought her the boots she wanted as an apology. She knew that it was too much but before she could even contemplate to return them, she had them on her feet and was dancing around her apartment in joy. She ran into her bedroom and took a picture of her boot-clad legs and sent it out to Kim.

**He bought me the boots! Leonard actually bought me the boots!**

**Holy hell. Why are my boyfriends never like this? Wow, those look amazing on you. Can I borrow them?**

**Are you crazy? They are so comfortable, they will never leave my feet again :P**

**Come on, at some point you will want to have sex with your Leonard again, then you have to take them off ^^**

**Who says I have to take them off for sex? :D**

**Wow, you're kinky ;)**

**See you later Kim. Forward the pic to Cheryl please :)**

**Will do. Bye Penny**

Penny put down her phone and was about to dance back into the living room when suddenly she had a thought. She got out of the boots and took off all her clothes before putting the boots back on. She placed the phone in position on her nightstand, set the timer of the camera and got into the position on the bed she thought of. She waited for the snapshot and after checking that it looked great, she opened the contact she was looking for and forwarded the picture.

* * *

Leonard sat in his chair at his desk, working on his laptop while Sheldon was completely immersed in playing with the time machine, sitting in the chair and making wooshing noises. Now that Leonard had sold him his share, he was free to do as he pleased and took full advantage of it. Not that it mattered to Leonard. His relationship with Penny was far more important than some life-sized time machine prop from a movie. He just hoped that the gift he got her would show her how important she is to him compared to his stuff.

He looked up from his work when his phone buzzed and indicated an incoming message. He saw Penny's name as sender and that the message field was empty but that there was a picture attached to it. Checking behind him to see if Sheldon had noticed something but finding him still playing, he opened the message.

His eyes almost popped out of his head and blood rapidly rushed south to a certain part of his anatomy at the sight that greeted him. There Penny was, smiling at the camera, on her back on her bed, legs upright in the air slightly bend and crossed at her ankles, arms stretched left and right. Completely naked. With her perfect skin. The curve of her equally perfect butt and the hint of her inviting folds. He could only see a hint of her voluptuous breasts because her long outstretched legs covered the line of sight. Those legs that went on forever...

She had the boots on. She was right. Despite their ridiculous price, they did look absolutely stunning, especially on her naked body. Trying to suppress the erection in his pants, he texted her back.

* * *

  **O_O**

Penny had to laugh at the emoticon but it was exactly the reaction she was hoping for. **So I see you liked it?**

**Oh yes. And I see you opened my present :)**

**Yes I did. They look amazing on me, don't you agree?**

**Well, to be honest I didn't see them at first, the naked flesh kind of distracted me.**

**What, you didn't see the boots right away? ;)**

**How could I with that amazing body attached to them. Remember, I only buy shoes worth twenty bucks ^^**

**So, what do you think?**

**They do look amazing on you. But to be honest, every kind of footwear would look amazing on you if you wear nothing else :)**

**What is Sheldon doing right now?**

**That's kind of a strange segway but he's playing with the time machine. Why?**

**Because it has been almost three weeks since we had sex and I'm naked right now. I want your head between my legs and your tongue bringing me to orgasm before I ride you so hard the bed will break. And I of course also want to get down on my stomach again and feel you pound my g-spot into oblivion until I can do nothing else than scream into my pillow**

**You're mean, you know that? Now I'm sitting here with an erection with Sheldon twenty feet away**

**Well, if you can get out of there, I won't move my naked body. Even better, look at this**

Penny spread her legs wide and used one hand to open her folds before taking another picture. She grinned and sent it to Leonard's number.

**Holy crap Penny. You torture me :(**

**My heat is awaiting your tongue ;)**

**Give me a minute**

Penny laid back into her pillow and softly rubbed her hand over her nub. Images of Leonard doing that with his tongue went through her mind and she started to moan slightly. She hoped that he had a plan to get out of his apartment. Not that she particularly cared right now about keeping their relationship a secret right now. If Sheldon found out today that she and Leonard were a couple, she couldn't care less because true to her words, she needed him badly.

She opened her eyes and lifted her head when she heard her apartment door open and close again. The soft paddle of slippers echoed through her place and five seconds later her bedroom door opened to reveal a wide-eyed Leonard, whose eyes were almost black with arousal. She smiled at him and spread her legs some more, giving him a wordless invitation which he immediately took.

He chucked his robe on the floor and almost took a header onto her bed. Before his body had even stopped bouncing, his head was between her legs and his tongue ran over her labia as his mouth closed on her nub, sucking it softly. Penny gasped at the sudden contact before grabbing his head to press it harder onto her. How she had missed this. He always knew how she needed it, how hard he had to press his tongue on her to get the maximum amount of pleasure.

For ten minutes, her head was pressed against her pillow, her hands pressing his head against her and she loudly moaned her delight during the entire time. That was until he used his thumbs to spread her labia wide and ran his tongue over her insides because then she began to breath hard and when her entire body started to shake in orgasmic bliss, her moans turned into a scream of pleasure.

“Holy crap, you're amazing at this.” Penny panted as she calmed down all the while Leonard kept sucking her nub softly, causing her to twitch occasionally.

“Thank you.” he replied as he climbed up her body to plant a kiss on her lips.

As their kiss became heated and their tongues started to play with each other, she felt him position himself over her entrance. Not wanting to back out from her promise, she hooked her leg round his hips and flipped them over. She grinned when his eyes went wide and moaned as his hands started caressing her breasts. She quickly lifted herself up and sank down on his hard manhood.

She put her feet on the bed and started bouncing up and down, the sound of their skin slamming together reverberating through her bedroom, even drowning out her moans and his groans. She bent her upper body back, giving him a direct view of their intimate connection and the change in angle made her shiver in delight. She sped up her efforts and soon was rewarded with another climax.

“That's two.” she told him as she climbed forward again to get in the proper riding position.

“Keeping score now?” he grinned at her.

“Sure, I have s spreadsheet with every time we did it and how often I came.”

“You're kidding, right?”

“Of course I am. But your record is still at thirteen.”

“My record?” Leonard asked.

“Yeah, how often you made me climax during one session, so to speak. You and your big buddy who's currently resting inside me.” she replied with a grin and ground her hips around, causing him to groan.

“I think he had enough rest, start moving.” he ordered and his confident and assertive tone made her comply immediately.

She put her hands on his chest and started moving forward and backward, slowly at first but gaining speed with every repetition. She soon moaned loudly as his manhood moved against her walls, setting her nerve endings on fire. Soon her speed had reached its climax and as she rode him hard, she could hear the bedframe hammering against the well, an acoustic testament to the carnal activities happening in this room for her neighbors downstairs to hear. Not that she cared.

She kept her eyes closed as she moved on him and therefore couldn't see the look in Leonard's eyes. A look that was filled with love and adoration, even a little smugness, because it was because of him that her face was contorted in absolute pleasure, with her mouth open and her lips curved up in a slight smile.

When another orgasm hit her, she collapsed on his chest. Leonard grabbed her ass and moved his hips up and down, keeping up the speed she had set and managing to prolong her orgasm to almost a minute.

“I hate it when you do that.” she managed to say between her ragged breaths.

“What?”

“Keep moving that fast inside me when I'm climaxing.”

“Oh, really? I remember you usually telling me on a regular basis not to stop under any circumstances.”

“Well, I... shut up.”

“Okay, in the future, when you come, I will stop moving.”

“Don't you dare mister.”

“It's doctor. But now climb off me and lay down. I still have to follow your orders from before.”

Giggling, Penny complied and got on her stomach for her favorite position. Not that didn't love riding him or having him in any other position but this one was her all time favorite ever since their very first night together. Back then she didn't know the term he had coined but during their motel night she came four times when they did it in this position.

With both hands on her shoulders, he guided his manhood into her and without preamble started to pound her ferociously. Her head slammed down onto her pillow and she started screaming into it, the rush of endorphins from her stimulated g-spot too much to handle quietly. She didn't see it but she could almost feel Leonard's grin as every thrust of his made her give a squeal of delight.

As if she could be mad at him right now for being smug. She loved it. Even time had become something not worth keeping track off again. The world once more had shrunk to a bubble containing him, her and the bed. His getting-ever-louder groaning told her he was about to finish, something she granted him but didn't really want because it felt so damn good.

Her sixth orgasm of the night took him with her and he collapsed onto her back with a loud groan. She could feel his manhood twitch as it spilled into her, which caused additional feelings of pleasure to course through her. And although she wanted to stay in this position, him above her, held by him, she really didn't want to change her sheets.

“Come on sweetie, lets go take a shower.” Penny said and Leonard wordlessly complied.

He pulled her up with him and hand in hand they walked into the bathroom. They stepped into the tub and proceeded to wash each other while keeping in almost constant body contact. She grimaced at him while her foot was on his shoulder as he washed her legs with her loofah, deliberately avoiding her center. At some point in the near future, they would do that and she would just take his head in her hands and push it between her legs so his tongue could do magic again.

After drying themselves off, they went back into the bedroom. Just as she was about to ask if he had to leave, he got into her bed and leaned his back against the headboard.

“Wow, we might not have broken the bed but we did damage it.” he said.

“What?”

“Look, the bedpost has a crack where it hit the wall.”

“Oh. While I don't oppose fervent lovemaking that breaks the bed, it could get expensive to buy a new one every week.”

“Come here.” he said and opened his arms and legs. Penny wasted no time and jumped into her bed, getting between his legs and leaning back against his chest. When Leonard put his hands on hers, intertwined their fingers and rested them over her stomach. She sighed contently and closed her eyes.

“Hmm, I could stay like this forever.” she hummed after fifteen minutes of them just cuddling.

“Me too. Nothing better than having a gorgeous woman in your arms after sex. Well, except having more sex.”

“More sex? I think that's at least another fifteen to thirty minutes away.”

“Well, it could be faster if you helped it along.”

“Did you just made a veiled demand for a blowjob?”

“Who, me? Nah! It's enough when you get naked to get me going. Although I certainly wouldn't say no if you offered.”

“Oh, so that's how you're playing it, do you?” Penny said and extricated herself from him.

She pushed her comforter off them and turned around on him, gliding down his body until her head was above his groin. She took his manhood into her hand and started rubbing it, causing him to moan. Her mouth was open, ready to take him in when both of them stopped dead in their tracks.

“Did you hear that?” Leonard asked her.

“I don't know...” she replied but was cut off.

“Leonard!” came a loud shout from the other apartment, verifying their fear.

“Crap, it's Sheldon.” Leonard said and both jumped off the bed, grabbing their clothes and putting them on just as they heard Sheldon knocking on her apartment door, the speed of his knocks indicating that he was in some kind of panic.

Penny went to the door and waited for Leonard, clad again in his shorts, shirt and robe, to sit down on the couch. She opened it to find a wide-eyed Sheldon in the hallway.

“What is it Sheldon?” she asked him.

“Leonard, what are you doing in Penny's apartment at this hour?” Sheldon asked.

“I came over here to apologize for the time machine incident and we kinda talked away the time.” Leonard blatantly lied.

“Very well. But speaking of the time machine, we have to get rid of it. As soon as possible.”

“It really doesn't fit into the living room, does it.” Leonard stated.

“Um... yes, that's it. It doesn't fit. Will you call Raj and Howard? They can pay me my share and fight it out as to whoever takes it.”

“We won't do that tonight, tomorrow is fine.”

“But...”

“Sheldon, the time machine won't bother you in your sleep, will it?”

“Um... no, of course not. Why would it. Tomorrow is fine. Good night Penny. Leonard, come on.”

“Go ahead, I'll be over in a few minutes.”

“Very well.” Sheldon said and left. Leonard turned back to Penny.

“What was that all about? Suddenly this thing doesn't fit?” she asked.

“By the way he was acting, I'd say he dreamed that he was eaten by Morlocks.” he replied.

“Morlocks?”

“Ape-like, man-eating monsters from the movie.”

“Ah. Do you really have to go over there now?”

“If I don't, he will come back. Even if we tell him we're together, he won't leave us alone.”

“Oh, too bad. Well, good night sweetie.” Penny said and gave him a long, loving kiss.

“Good night Penny.” he replied, gave her a smile and left her apartment, closing the door behind him.

On her way to the bedroom, she took the phone from the nightstand and deactivated the recorder. After her two audio recordings, she videotaped them this time, wanting to have a real memento of a great night. She saved it and put it into her special folder for exactly this stuff. At some point, she'd watch it with him and while it ran, they would try beat their performance on the video. She just hoped he wouldn't be mad at her for doing it without telling him. And for the first time in almost three weeks, Penny went to bed with a big, orgasm-induced smile on her face.

* * *

  **And done with this one. The season is nearing its end ^^ Kind of thinking about how to incorporate the second season into my storytelling.**

**Only if you want to read that, of course. Otherwise I stop at the season one finale ;)**

**Review please :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Enjoy :)**

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going. **

* * *

"Mmh, Leonard, you know I was mad at you for waking me up at five in the morning but you sure made up for it during the last hour.” Penny said and stretched her naked body.

“I'm glad to hear it. I really thought you would hit me.” he replied and also stretched his equally naked body.

“If you had said “Good morning Penny, I got up early so we can have sex before Sheldon gets up and we have to go to work”, I would have grabbed your hand and pulled you into my bed with gusto. But you just smirked and took my hand. What was I supposed to do?”

“Trust me?” he grinned.

“Shut up. You should have realized by now that I'm not a morning person.”

“Yeah, I kinda gleaned that. But I hope that I made up for it.”

“Oh you did. You made up for it four times as a matter of fact.” she smiled and gave a slight moan when Leonard started playing with her left nipple, running his fingertip over her areola and occasionally kissing it.

“Mmh, that feels good.” Penny sighed. “Want to go for another round?”

“I would love to. But I don't think we have time. Sheldon should get up in a few minutes and I don't want to explain, why I went over here at this hour, especially since you threatened to punch him in the throat, should he ever knock before eleven a.m.”

“I can't believe that neither of the guys has figured it out yet that we're together. And they call themselves geniuses.”

“To give them credit, I almost can't believe that we're together. They probably believe that I pine for you but you only indulge me by not parading other guys around in front of me.”

“That's kind of rude.” she commented.

“It is what it is. To be honest, if Raj was in my position and I would look in from the outside, I'd probably feel the same.

“Why?”

“Generally speaking? I'm a nerd and you are a smoking hot babe. Our types usually don't mix like this.”

“Are you calling me shallow? Someone who would only go for buff guys and not for someone like you?”

“No! No no no. The fact that we are next to each other, naked, already says that's not true. But think about it. Had we met in a club with a lot of people around us and maybe each of us being with our social groups, would you have noticed me? Remember, we met in an almost deserted bar.”

“But I was the one initiating our first night.”

“I know, and I'm eternally grateful that you did and that you kept initiating so we could get to this point. Because I know that I couldn't have done it under normal circumstances. I was way too shy, still am, around beautiful women like you to ask them out just like that.” he said and clicked his fingers to underline his comment.

“You're probably right, I wouldn't have noticed you. But I'm glad we met in that bar. Because I saw what a nice person you were, because you were the first one to buy me drinks without the thought of sleeping with me.”

“Well, only at the beginning. I think the first thought of your naked body grinding against mine was when you started rubbing your foot up my leg.”

“Yep, that's when I was thinking about that too. I hang on your arm as well when we got out of the bar remember? I was kinda hoping you'd take me to your home. When you took me to that hotel and said those beautiful words about me, I knew that I wanted you. And if I hadn't moved into this apartment, this one night might have been our only one.”

“Have you any idea how shocked I was when I saw you?”

“Probably as shocked as I was. But when we were in your bathroom, I knew that I wanted more nights with you.”

“Really?” he asked surprised. “I was hoping for it but never thought it could happen again.”

“Was the putting-your-hand-on-my-butt not a big enough sign?”

“Truthfully? No. But that probably comes with my insecurity around women.”

“Leonard sweetie, believe me, all I wanted was to drag you into the shower and have my wicked way with you, screw your friends outside.”

“Really?” he asked grinning.

“Yes, really. And on that note, when is Sheldon supposed to get up?”

“In about twenty minutes.” Leonard said after checking his watch. “Why?”

“Because right now, you have two choices. One, you get out of my bed, into your clothes and leave now to face your whacky roommate once he's up. Or two, because all this talk about sex and your hand playing with my breast made me quite horny again, you pound me to another orgasm.”

“Let me think about that.” he said and saw her glare. “While I climb on top of you and spread your legs.” he continued and followed his words with action when he spread her legs apart and positioned his once more hard manhood over her entrance.

“Any other answer would have resulted in a lot of pain in your groin area.” she said and grabbed around his neck as she hooked her ankles behind him and he pushed inside her.

Instead of saying something, he connected their lips and pushed his tongue into her mouth. She didn't hold back and battled his with her own tongue, moans escaping their throats and being swallowed by the other. Every thrust of his brought her closer to the brink but she knew what would make the experience even better. She unhooked her ankles and lifted one leg up, running her knee along his arm. He got the hint and grabbed behind her knee, pushing her leg to her shoulder and repeating the process with the other leg.

This new position enhanced her already great experience even more and made her squeal into his mouth with every thrust of his. Her sound suppressor went away though, when he lifted his upper body into an upright position. He put his hands on the back of her knees to keep them and her in position and proceeded to pound her hard.

“Oh god Leonard. Right there!” she yelled breathlessly as he once again hit her g-spot while she pushed her hips up in sync with him as much as she could in her position. While she loved to ride him and also to be on her stomach and have him pound her g-spot into oblivion, this position also ranked in the top five because it made Leonard the dominant one and seeing him confidently bringing her to climax was something she was always amazed by.

She clenched her inner muscles every time he thrust in and after ten minutes of relentless, steady pounding, she felt his movements getting erratic. With a mighty groan, he spilled into her and those last hard thrusts were enough to pull her with him. He pulled out of her and got up, grabbing a roll of paper towels and handing her one.

After cleaning himself up, he put on his shorts, shirt and socks before donning his robe while she stayed naked in bed, still way too blissfully happy to move.

“You know, I'm always amazed how you can be done in ten minutes if need be but the next time last for twenty or thirty minutes.” Penny said.

“There is a whole lot of holding back on my side. If I just go, we'd be done in two minutes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Sex with you is way too good to be done quickly. But I have to go now.” Leonard said.

“I know. But I don't like it. Can't you call in sick?”

“Yeah sure but I'm sure Sheldon would rat me out in his usual fashion by just talking and telling everyone that “Leonard is having sex with our neighbor”.” he replied, doing air quotes with his fingers.

“Well, give me some credit, I could get you into hospital for dehydration.” she grinned seductively.

“Is that a challenge? Because in that case I put the rubber band back on and see who calls it quits first.”

“Lets leave the rubber band for a special occasion. Although I certainly won't mind another dozen orgasms.”

“I think I better leave before I jump into your bed again.” he said and went over to her. He grabbed the back of her head and pushed their lips together for a deep, searing kiss. She slung her arms around his neck and kissed him back just as hard, their tongues once more playing with each other. They separated way too soon for her liking.

“Good morning Penny.” he grinned.

“Good morning, sweetie. Have fun at work.”

“A day without a Penny? Can't be fun.”

“Aww. Aren't you sappy. But you'll see me in the evening for sure.”

“Bye Penny.” he said and left the bedroom and apartment.

“Bye Leonard. I hope this type of wake-up call becomes a daily thing.” she whispered into the empty room and laid back to get some more sleep.

* * *

At work, Penny almost danced between the tables, serving the breakfast customers with a genuine smile and getting great tips for once. Her mood didn't go unnoticed by some of her coworkers.

“You're in a good mood.” Cheryl commented when Penny got back to the bar.

“Yep. Seems like someone got some this morning.” Kim added.

“Yes, I am and yes, I did.” Penny answered both their comments. “Leonard came over at five in the morning.”

“And you didn't kill him?”

“Wanted to at first. But then he pushed me onto my bed and went to work, so to speak.”

“Nice. How long this time?” Kim asked.

“Thirty minutes and then another ten for round two. We had to hurry because he needed to get to work.”

“So, what day did we agree on regarding you lending us your boyfriend for a night or two?” Cheryl asked with a grin.

“That would be two days after never.” Penny smiled.

“Come on, we'd even do it in a threesome with him, so we only need him one night. You can watch, if you want.”

“Nuh uh. He's mine and only mine as I am his and only his. And if I ever find one of you in a compromising position with Leonard, I will bring down a world of hurt on you.”

“Easy girl, we're just kidding around.” Cheryl said while Kim backed away a step.

“I hope so.” Penny winked and walked away to a table to collect more dishes.

“Damn, she's getting quite possessive, isn't she?” Kim mused.

“Yep, it's almost scary.” Cheryl replied when she felt her phone vibrate.

“Got a message?” Kim asked as Cheryl checked her phone.

“Well, not a message but a video.”

“What?”

“Remember, when we listened to the second recording of them?” Cheryl asked and Kim nodded.

“Before I hit the play button, I opened a Bluetooth connection from hers to my phone. Whenever we are in close proximity, hers automatically copies any new audio or video files in her special folder to my phone. I excluded picture files.”

“Isn't that illegal?”

“Well, kind of. But don't you want to listen to and watch them?”

“Although it's kind of horrible that we are doing this, but yes. I want to.”

“Then it's settled. I come to your place tonight and we'll watch those two in action.”

“Damn, we're dirty girls. And strangely desperate. Living our sex lives through Penny.”

“If our boyfriends were as skilled as Leonard seems to be, we wouldn't have to do that.”

“Ah well. See you tonight.”

* * *

When Penny came home at around three in the afternoon, she was really exhausted. Thanks to a busload of Japanese tourists, she had to work overtime but at least her good mood had held and she had gotten the best tips since she started working at the Cheesecake Factory. Maybe she should make this a rule, having long and satisfying sex with Leonard before each shift.

She washed up and changed out of her uniform into some more comfortable clothes and then started to clean up a bit, something she rarely enjoyed. But ever since Sheldon pretty much broke into her place to clean, she kept it in acceptable shape to prevent that situation from repeating itself. God knows what he'd do if he saw her place again cluttered up like a pig sty.

After putting away some glasses and dishes, she went into her bedroom to straighten out the bed. She picked up her night clothes that were strewn across the room where Leonard had thrown them this morning after ripping the off of her. During her clean-up efforts, she spotted something blue sticking out from under her bed.

She bent down and pulled the piece of fabric out. It revealed itself to be Leonard's superman boxers, with the large S on the crotch. She remembered getting them off him and throwing them behind her off the bed. How the hell did they end up under it? She smiled at the thought of what was usually under the letter and what kind of words she could replace the Superman with. Stud. Sex machine, although these were two words. Stamina.

She left her apartment with her laundry basket in hand and his boxers on top of her pile to bring them back to him before she could go down to the laundry room. Maybe she could convince him to a repeat of the event of the morning. She knocked at the guys' door and entered without waiting for someone to open.

“Hey, Leonard, you left your underwear...” she started and stopped herself from saying the words 'in my bedroom' when she saw the other four people in the apartment. “...in the dryer downstairs.” she corrected.

“Oh, yeah. Thanks.” Leonard replied and grabbed the pair, quickly hiding it from the others. The look in his eyes told her the silent thank you. Howard sat in Sheldon's spot, who was working at his desk. He pointed to the other woman in the apartment, who was sitting on the chair Leonard usually occupies. “Uh, Penny, this is Sheldon’s twin sister, Missy. Missy, this is our neighbor Penny.”

“Hi.” Missy greeted Penny.

“Wow, you don’t look that much alike.” Penny said.

“Can I get a hallelujah.” Howard interjected.

“Fraternal twins come from two separate eggs, they are no more alike than any other siblings.” Sheldon piped in, followed by another grateful outburst from Howard. Just then, Raj came running into the apartment.

“Hey, guess what. I’ve been accepted as a test subject for a new miracle drug to overcome pathological shyness.” the Indian physicist greeted the group.

“Hey, good for you, Raj.” Penny said.

“Yes, I’m very hopeful. Hello Missy.” he waved at Sheldon's sister and Penny watched his hand keep waving. “They mentioned there may be side effects.”

Penny decided that laundry could wait and quickly brought her basket back to her apartment before heading back to the guys. When she reentered their place, she saw Missy now sitting on the couch between Howard and Raj while Sheldon still sat at his desk working and Leonard stood at the kitchen table, cutting Gherkins and preparing a bowl with something white. She went over to stand beside him, her body touching his and her hand gliding over his lower back, hidden from the view of the others.

She saw Raj and Howard talking to Missy, both of them trying to one-up each other with achievements of their people. Of course, Raj mentioned the Kama Sutra and Penny had to admit that this particular book was something to be thankful for. Especially after she had read it and tried some of it out with Leonard.

She saw him looking at the group and he had a smirk on his face when they heard Howard trying to play up his scooter as a big bike. She decided to try something.

“Hey, Sheldon’s sister’s pretty cute, isn't she?”

“Yes, she is. If you like tall and full-figured women, she's perfect.”

“Leonard, you should think about your next words if you want to see my body naked ever again.” she whispered.

“What? What did I say? I was just agreeing with you that she is cute. And if you weren't in my life, I probably would be over there with Raj and Howard, making an ass of myself.” he replied quietly.

“Yeah, they are pretty pathetic in their attempts, are they. Although Raj has the upper hand with the Kama Sutra thing.”

“True. But seriously, Missy has nothing on you. You're perfect. And I would be pretty foolish to risk anything by ogling Sheldon's sister after leaving matching bite marks on your ass cheeks.” he grinned and put his left hand on her ass, giving it a soft squeeze through her pants.

“By the way, what is that stuff?” she asked and pointed to the blue bowl.

“It's onion dip.” he replied and saw her look. “It's the only thing we had. We don't entertain much, remember?” he said and took both bowl and plate before going to the table. Penny on the other hand went to Sheldon.

“Sheldon, why are you ignoring your sister?” she asked him.

“I’m not ignoring my sister. I’m ignoring all of you.” he replied and kept working.

Penny shook her head and watched the guys interact with Missy. After explaining to Missy what that white stuff is, Leonard repeated the words he had said to her. She grinned when she heard Raj say that his people had invented pajamas and she made a mental note to ask Leonard later if that was true.

She felt an equal amount of disgust when she heard Howard mention that his people had invented circumcision. It might be true but the way he said it and the look on Missy's face made the whole thing completely creepy. But what wasn't creepy when Howard said it. She decided that enough was enough.

“Missy, I’m going to go get my nails done. Do you want to come?” she suggested to her.

“God yes.” came the enthusiastic and relieved reply. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Penny mirrored the guys.

“Bye guys.” Missy said after getting up and all the guys minus Sheldon answered her.

“Goodbye Leonard!” Penny said to her boyfriend, a little miffed that he hadn't said anything.

“Oh... uh, bye Penny.” he stammered and she shook her head, grinning, as she followed Missy out.

* * *

Penny took Missy to a nearby nail studio, and luckily enough they didn't have to wait. As they sat next to each other, admiring the color the owner of the store put on their nails, Penny turned to her.

“So, what brings you here? Is this just a social visit to your whackadoodle brother?”

“No, he needed to sign some documents. And our mother wanted someone to watch him sign them. Since I had some vacation days left, I offered to bring them here.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I'm a hostess at Fuddruckers. You?”

“I'm an actress. But I also work at the Cheesecake Factory to pay the bills until I get my big break.”

“Anything prospective?”

“Nothing right now. It kinda sucks.”

“Well, at least you have Leonard.” Missy grinned which made Penny sit up sharply.

“How do you know that?”

“Come on, it's so obvious. When he went to the kitchen table to make the snacks, you immediately went to his side. The way he didn't try to hit on me. The look you gave him after you came in. I didn't see his face but I'm sure he had the same look on his face when he took his boxers from you. And I'm pretty sure he didn't forget his boxers in the dryer, did he?” Missy smiled when Penny blushed.

“Fine, he forgot them this morning in my bedroom.”

“Are you a couple?”

“Yes, we are. Why?”

“I'm just wondering why you kept it to yourself and didn't kiss in the apartment.”

“Because we're keeping it a secret. We want to see how long it takes the guys to figure it out. And so far, they haven't figured it out despite them being geniuses.” Penny said.

“They might be geniuses but they're probably completely inept concerning social situations.”

“Leonard said something like that. He suggested it might be because they can't fathom someone like him hooking up with someone like me.”

“Really? I think he's cute in that nerdy kind of way. A bit too little for my taste though. So, how did it come about?”

“What?”

“You and Leonard.”

“We met in a bar. He was fleeing from Sheldon's antics and I had just moved out from my ex's place and was aimlessly wandering through the city. He bought me a stiff drink when I needed it, promised me not to want to hit on me and after a bottle of tequila he paid for a motel room for the night for me. And there he said something so beautiful to me that the combination of alcohol and his generosity led to an amazing night.”

“That's so sweet.” Missy interrupted.

“Yes. And then it turned out that my new apartment was across the hall from them. And the rest, shall we say, is history. We did it again and from then on I only wanted him. We're steady for about two months now and frankly, I can't imagine myself being with anyone else, not after he showed me what kind of skill he has in bed.”

“Now you're making me jealous.”

“You should me. When we're together, it's as if our bodies were made to fit.”

“Look at you, all glowing with happiness. The guys really are inept if they haven't figured it out yet, especially when you have this look on your face.”

“What look?” Penny asked with a blush.

“The best way I can describe it is with the words sated happiness. The look a person has if they have sex with someone they have deep feelings for.”

Penny laid back in her chair and thought about Missy's words. She knew that she had deeper feelings for Leonard but so far hadn't been able to voice them out loud. She feared that if she said them, she'd ruin everything for moving too fast. She hoped that someday in the near future, Leonard would say those three magic words first. Then she would say them right back and kiss him senseless. And then they'd probably break her bed in a carnal celebration.

“Looks like we're done here.” Missy said, pulling Penny out of her thoughts.

“Yeah, looks like it.”

“Wanna head back or do something else?”

“Lets get frozen yoghurt on the way home. Then we can check on the guys. Prevent Howard and Raj from drowning from their own drool.”

Missy laughed at that as Penny paid her treatment, followed by Missy. During their way home, they went to the same place she had gone with Leonard after his disastrous presentation that ended in a scuffle with Sheldon.

“You know, the last time I was here, I was with Leonard.” Penny said and took another spoonful of her frozen treat. “We were coming from a presentation he did that your brother crashed. They ended up fighting on the floor.”

“Really? I can't imagine my Shelly fighting.”

“It wasn't a fight, really. More a scuffle. But it did cost me a romantic dinner I had extorted from Leonard for going with him.”

“Did Shelly at least apologize?”

“As I understand it, no. But apparently that's just how he is. Not to worry, I had amazing sex with Leonard after we got home.”

“So something good still came out of it.” Missy smiled.

“And out of him too.” Penny said and grinned when Missy dropped her spoon.

* * *

“You want to come to my place or head back to the guys?” Penny asked as they ascended the stairs to the fourth floor.

“Lets get back to them, see what they are up to. Maybe they have new funny ways of trying to woo me.” Missy said and both headed into 4A.

They saw the group standing around the kitchen table. Sheldon was making himself a sandwich and Leonard stood apparently bored at the table, his arms on it. Howard was pressing a bag of frozen peas to his neck and Raj sat with his back to both women. They were obviously discussing something.

“Now that I have realized how high the genetic stakes are, we have to face the fact that none of you are suitable mates for my sister.” Sheldon said, and Penny saw Missy take notice. She put a hand on her arm and mentioned for her to be quiet.

“Lets listen some more, could be fun.” Penny whispered.

“Excuse me, but I think you’re missing a big opportunity here.” Raj stated. “Everybody knows genetic diversity produces the strongest offspring. Why not put a little mocha in the family latte.”

“In principle you have a point. “Sheldon agreed. “But as a practical matter, need I remind you that it takes experimental pharmaceuticals to simply enable you to speak to the opposite sex.”

“I think you’re focusing entirely too much on the drugs.” Raj said and waved his finger. Both women had to suppress a laugh when they saw his finger keep waving until Leonard put it down on the table.

“Is it ‘cause I’m Jewish, ‘cause I’d kill my Rabbi with a pork chop to be with your sister.” Howard said and Penny saw Missy's face frown with disgust.

“This has nothing to do with religion. This has to do with the fact that you’re a tiny, tiny man who still lives with his mother.” Sheldon explained and once more they had to stifle a laugh. “And you too can't have her Leonard.” he added.

“What makes you think I want her?” Leonard asked and Penny felt relief. “I didn't even say anything.”

“Oh come on. My sister has the exact body type widely considered to be desirable and since your efforts with Penny have, much like your research, achieved nothing, you are sure to desire her as well as a mate.”

“Sheldon, I admit your sister is desirable but I prefer it when the woman I'm with isn't a head taller than me when she wears high heels. That looks ridiculous in public.”

“Wouldn't bother me.” Howard interjected.

“Of course it wouldn't.” Leonard said. “But Sheldon, stop making false assumptions as to my intentions.”

“It doesn't change the fact that you can't have her.”

“Come on dude, you're totally unreasonable.” Raj whined.

“Am I?” Sheldon asked. “Okay. Raj, you talk to her without drugs. Howard, move out of your mothers home. And Leonard, here. Eat this cheese without farting. If you can achieve that, then you all can sleep with my sister.”

“Oh really?” Missy asked, finally unable to keep quiet despite their amusement.

“Oops.” Sheldon said, looking like a deer in the headlights.

“Shelly, can I speak to you for a minute? Alone!” Missy more ordered then asked and walked towards his bedroom.

“Why does everyone suddenly want to talk to me alone? Usually nobody wants to be alone with me.” Sheldon muttered and followed her.

Penny went to the rest of the group and stood next to Leonard, grinning at him. She waited for him to say something. She didn't expect an apology since he hadn't done anything wrong but she curious if he felt he had to apologize to her because if he did, then she could ask him why he felt the need to.

He simply smiled at her as she did to him and, noticing Howard and Raj looking away in shame, he let his hand go down to her butt and gave it another squeeze, followed by a rub. Penny had a hard time suppressing her surprised yelp at his audacity.

“So, what were you talking about?” she asked the three of them.

“Depends on how much you heard.” Howard said.

“Oh, not much. Just your pitches. Indian mocha and a dead rabbi, killed by pork chop.”

“What about Leonard?” Raj asked her.

“What about him? All I heard him say was that she is too tall for him.”

“He probably noticed you standing there.” Howard muttered.

“In your dreams Howard.” Penny said. “He's just a more decent human being than you.”

Just then, Sheldon and Missy exited his bedroom and came back into the living room. Missy strode to the door smiling while Sheldon held his hands over his testicles, his face contorted in barely masked pain.

“Missy can date whoever she wants.” he said and Penny grinned as she left with Missy.

* * *

“I can't believe those guys.” Missy said as she took a sip of her juice. It had been almost twenty minutes since they left the guys' apartment.

“Yeah, it's like living next door to some adolescent boys.” Penny agreed.

“At least Leonard behaved like a grown-up.”

“It's a good thing he did. Otherwise he'd be holding his testicles as well.”

“You're quite possessive, aren't you?” Missy grinned.

“Is that so bad? I want to keep him.”

“That's so sweet.” Missy said just as they heard a knock on the door. Penny opened it to reveal a grinning Howard.

“What do you want, Howard?” Penny asked.

“I’m fine, thanks for asking. I’ve come to call on Missy.” he replied.

“Missy? Can you come here please?”

“Hi Howard.” Missy greeted the engineer.

“The amazing Howard. Do you like magic?”

“Not really. No.”

“Then you are in for a treat. Behold, an ordinary cane.” he said and tapped the cane he was holding against the door frame. Humming a magic trick melody, he attempted the rip the cane apart but fumbled it to the ground. Quickly grabbing whatever was inside, he held up a big yellow handkerchief that had the words 'will you go out with me?' written on it.

“No.” Missy simply said. Howard waved his hands in front of his face and produced another handkerchief, this one smaller and wrinkled. It only read the words 'are you sure?' Missy simply shook her head and closed the door.

“That's Howard.” Penny laughed. “The first day I met him, he wished me a good shower in French and Chinese.”

“Do his tricks work on anyone?” Missy asked.

“Not that I know of.” Penny replied just as there was another knock. She opened the door again and saw Raj standing there. “Missy?” she called

“Thank you.” Raj said to her. “I apprec… apprec…. appreeee…. Oh-oh.”

“Oh, honey, is your medication wearing off?” she asked and he simply nodded, unable to speak anymore.

“Oh, hi, cutie pie. I was hoping you’d show up.” Missy said seductively and Penny had to stifle a laugh at his attempts to speak. The only sounds coming from him were wails as if a dog sat next to his dead owner. Raj still made the sound when he turned around and went down the stairs.

“We had a dog who made a noise like that. Had to put him down.” Missy said as Penny closed the door.

“Were you serious? About being glad of him showing up?”

“Nah, I was just messing with him when I heard you say the thing about his medication.”

“You're evil, you know that?”

“I know.” Missy said and grinned. Penny poured another glass of wine for herself and one juice for Missy and both sat on the couch.

“So, you think Leonard will come over too?” Missy asked.

“If he does then I hope for the sake of his testicular health that he just wants to chat.” Penny said.

“I find your possessive streak sweet but also somewhat disturbing.”

“Yeah, because I...” Penny started but was interrupted by yet another knock on her door. She stood up and went to open it, revealing a smiling Leonard in the hallway, one arm behind his back.

“Hey Leonard.” Penny greeted. “Are you here to see Missy?”

“Uh, no.” he replied with a confused look. “I just came by to give you this.” he said and pulled a single rose from around his back and held it towards her.

“Oh, thanks sweetie. What for?”

“Just because. You're sweet, you're kind, you're smoking hot and you've allowed me to give you matching hickeys on your butt. And I didn't want to have you believe I'd cheat on you.” he said quietly and grinned.

“Where are the guys?” she asked him as she took a whiff of the scent of the rose.

“Howard and Raj went home, Sheldon is back at his computer. Why?”

“So I can do this.” Penny said and took a step towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a deep kiss, pushing her tongue into his mouth and moaning when he started to reciprocate. He broke the kiss way too soon.

“Um, does Missy...” he started.

“Yes, she knows. She found out the minute I came into your apartment with your boxers.”

“Really? And the guys are still clueless, go figure. Oh, we're ordering pizza for dinner, so if you two want to come over, you're welcome to it.”

“Good, we'll be there.”

“See you then Penny.” he said and went back to his apartment.

* * *

An hour later, the four of them were sitting in Sheldon and Leonard's apartment, eating a large pepperoni pizza with mozzarella cheese to accommodate for Leonard's lactose intolerance. After Leonard put away the plates, Sheldon spoke up.

“So, here's how we handle the sleep arrangements? Since our couch is too small for Missy to get a good nights sleep on and since she's my sister, there is only one solution. Missy, you sleep in Leonard's bed and he sleeps on the couch.”

“Wait, what?” Leonard said from the kitchen. “Why do I have to sleep on the couch?”

“As I just said, the couch is too small for Missy and I don't sleep on couches, I sleep in a bed. And since you invited her here, despite my objections, it is the only logical option.”

“If I have to sleep on the couch, you don't get to watch Doctor Who tomorrow. My head will be in your spot.”

“I just wake you, problem solved.”

“No, I want to sleep in this time.” Leonard said and Penny saw Sheldon's face starting to twitch.

“Here's an idea.” Missy piped in. “Why doesn't Leonard sleep on Penny's couch?” she suggested and winked at Penny.

“Fine by me.” Penny said.

“Great idea Missy.” Sheldon happily agreed. “I can sleep in my bed, you can sleep in a bed and I get to watch Doctor Who tomorrow morning in piece.”

They spent the rest of the evening talking while Sheldon went back to work on his laptop. Penny whispered a thank you into Missy's ear before getting up when Sheldon announced his own bedtime.

“Well, it's been fun. Good night Sheldon, good night Missy.” Penny said and almost grabbed Leonard's hand to pull him out with her.

As soon as they entered her place, Penny slammed Leonard against her door, pushing it shut and pressing her lips to his. They let their tongues play with each other as Leonard put his hands on her butt.

“Don't worry sweetie, you will never have to sleep on the couch.” she said, pulled him into her bedroom and threw him on her bed.

“A little eager, are we?” Leonard grinned.

“You have no idea.” she said and quickly discarded her pants and shirt, leaving her in only her underwear.

She jumped into bed on top of him and scooted ever forward on her knees. Without saying anything, she smiled down at him and pulled the fabric of her thong aside, revealing her core to him before pressing it onto his mouth. She started moving forward and back in a slow motion, getting friction against her nub while his skilled tongue set the nerve endings inside her labia on fire.

His hands went to her upper legs, holding her in place. He pushed his tongue deep into her and his ministrations soon had her shutter in orgasmic bliss for the first time this night. She was always surprised at how easy it seemed to be for him to have her unravel but right now, she didn't care. She lifted herself up and scooted down again, kissing him hard while he unhooked her bra and threw it away.

“Mmh, you're always so great at licking me, it's unbelievable.” Penny sighed into his mouth as they kissed.

“I love seeing you climax. Also, it feels amazing when your inner muscles clench.” he replied after separating their lips.

“I wanted to use my mouth to get you hard, but I can feel through your pants that it's not needed.”

“Not that I don't want you to do it but I want you so much right now that I fear I will finish as soon as your lips touch it.”

“But won't that happen too when I start riding you?”

“Hopefully not. But seeing your lips surround my manhood and it sinking into your mouth, it's so sexy that it's almost unbearable to watch without coming.”

“Well then, we will do that another time.” she said and unbuttoned his pants and pulled them off him along with his boxers. “Really? Flash boxers? Those don't ease my doubts that you won't come right away.”

“Very funny. Now lets go. I want you.”

“Yes, Doctor.” she breathed seductively, getting even more horny by his commanding tone and took off her thong before scooting forwards again, positioning herself above him. Using one hand to guide him, she sank down on him with a gasp. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him up. Before he could latch onto her breast, she pulled the shirt off him, throwing it away like he did with her bra.

As she kept grinding on him and he sucked on her nipple, her phone suddenly indicated an incoming message.

“Damn, who's texting me now?” she asked exasperated and reached for her phone. Leonard just slung his arms around her and pulled her down, never letting his mouth separate from her breast. While she stretched her arm to get her phone, he took over the active part, pushing his hips up and down while holding her butt with his hands. Shaking and panting, Penny opened the text and saw that is was from Missy.

**Kept singing in bed until Shelly put on his noise-canceling headphones. Have fun with Leonard ;)**

“YES!” Penny shouted and sat up, seeing Leonard's confused face. “Missy made Sheldon put on headphones. Now we can be loud.”

Penny pushed his hands off her and grabbed his chest. She got into the correct position and started riding him hard. The bedframe once more hammered into the wall as she rapidly moved on him, his hard manhood inside her gliding along her walls, stimulating her to the core. She kept this up for ten minutes, her breathing getting more labored each minute until she could finally feel the coil snap.

“YEEHAA!” she screamed as another orgasm coursed through her, making her grind hard on him. It felt good to be loud. She didn't stop her movements and after a minute of coming down, she sped up again, making the bed again hammer against the wall as it did before, the sound reverberating through the room.

“Oh god Penny!” Leonard panted and grabbed her hips, adding his strength to her movement by pulling and shoving her hips in sync with her movements. Soon after she collapsed on his chest with another orgasmic scream, her teeth sinking into his chest.

Leonard turned them around, pulling her left leg over his shoulders. He grabbed around her neck to hold her steady and pounded her hard, making her cry out in pleasure with every thrust. He opened her eyes and saw her face contorted in absolute pleasure, her mouth open to ease breathing in. When she opened her eyes as well and their fiery gazes locked, he couldn't hold himself back anymore and came with a might grunt, taking her with him one last time, before collapsing on her, releasing her leg at the same time so she wouldn't be uncomfortable.

“Mmh, you have blown me away again.” she sighed in contentment.

“Always nice to hear that.” he panted. “But better lets go and wash up.”

He pulled her up with him and led her into her bathtub. This time they didn't shower in the usual sense but only stood under the spray of water, kissing languidly but filled with emotion and holding each other tight.

After a few minutes they dried themselves off and brushed their teeth. After heading back into the bedroom, Penny saw a new message on her phone. She picked it up and saw that it was once again from Missy.

**Nice going, cowgirl ;) Shelly is already asleep with his headphones on, so you two can continue to have fun.**

Penny blushed at the thought that her scream could have been heard even in the guys' apartment and decided that next time she'd try to hold back at least a little before her other neighbors came knocking at her door.

“Another message?” Leonard asked as he picked something up from the floor.

“Yeah, Missy told me that Sheldon has fallen asleep with his headphones on, so we don't have to worry.”

“Well, we're done anyway.” Leonard replied and looked at the message. “Nice going, cowgirl? Were we that loud?”

“Apparently. Your fault.”

“Why mine?”

“Because you're so good that it made me scream that loud.”

“I'm not sorry about that.” he grinned. “By the way, look here.”

“What is that?” Penny asked, seeing the piece of wood he was holding in his hand.

“Remember last time, when I said we damaged the bedpost? Well, this time the top broke off.”

“Whoa. At least the whole bed didn't collapse.”

“Might be a good idea to pull the bed away from the wall a foot or two.” he suggested.

“Great idea. Then I can ride you or you can mount me with abandon without thinking about the bed.”

“We'll still be loud.” he winked.

“I don't care anymore. If the guys find out about us that way, so be it. But we're done doing it quietly.”

“As you wish, my lady.” he said and climbed into bed. Penny immediately molded her body into his, sighing comfortably. “Good night, Penny.”

“Oh no, don't dare falling asleep.”

“What?”

“We will talk for thirty to forty minutes until you are good and ready again. This is one of the few nights you can stay here completely, so we will make the best use of it by having sex all night long.”

“Your wish is my command.” he said and started playing with her breasts, while his other hand went between her legs to rub her.

Yes, this was going to be an amazing night.

* * *

At the same time at an apartment twenty blocks away, two women were sitting back in shock after seeing their friend in action. They had just witnessed their friend having half a dozen orgasms and the only reason she didn't have more was the interruption of her boyfriend's roommate. Now, both were quite horny.

"Okay, this is what we do. We get some blond wigs and Leonard drunk. Then we have our wicked way with him. Penny never has to know.”

“You sure? She'll kill us if she ever finds out.”

“She won't. And if she does, we can die happy.”

“I feel horrible to even speak about this but okay. What do you have in mind?”

* * *

**And on that note, this chapter ends here. Only two more to go this season. Maybe I take a 6 month break like the show does between seasons :D Or maybe not ^^**

**Review please :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Enjoy :)**

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going. **

* * *

Penny walked into the Cheesecake Factory and went directly into the employees lounge, sitting down at one of the table across Kim and Cheryl who were doing the same shift as her. After saying goodbye to Missy, she had gone back to bed while Leonard did the same, both getting some much deserved sleep after their very active night. 

Eight times. They had done it eight times last night. Penny was sore all over her body, bite marks on her butt, chest and neck prove that the night had been wild and Leonard hadn't looked much better. She had to suppress a laugh that morning, when Sheldon had commented how uncomfortable her couch must be because Leonard walked so funny. But still, despite all of the soreness and tiredness, she was happy. Happy and sated beyond belief. And of course, her appearance wasn't lost on her two colleagues across from her.

“Holy crap.” Cheryl started. “What happened to you?”

"You look like someone who had sex all night.” Kim added and Penny just grinned widely, unable to stop. “Oh my god, you did.”

“Yes, I did!” she exclaimed. “Sheldon's sister was visiting, and since Sheldon is Sheldon, Leonard ended up having to spend the night at my place. I didn't let him sleep last night.”

“Damn girl. How long did he last this time?”

“It varied. Sometimes longer, sometimes not.”

“Sometimes?” Cheryl asked. “How often did you do it.”

“Eight times.” Penny giggled and bounced on her chair, barely able to contain her desire to scream her happiness out to the world.

“Holy crap! How can you still walk?”

“I had a few hours sleep before coming here. But seriously, I feel really sore... especially down there.”

“Penny!” Cheryl whined. “You have to give him to us. It's not funny anymore.”

“If you don't want to know, then stop asking.” Penny replied and stuck out her tongue.

“Did you record last night too...?” Kim asked and stopped when Cheryl kicked her under the table.

“What? What do you mean, “too”?” Penny asked.

“Um... well... remember when you needed that girls night after you missed work because the guys bought something big?”

“Yeah, go on.”

“Well... ah... after you bragged about how you recorded another session with him, this time an hour long, you played it for us, right before you fell asleep on my couch.” Kim said and Penny blushed hard.

“Oh god, I can't believe I did that. Damn you Cheryl, for getting me drunk.”

“Hey, I told you that would happen.” Cheryl defended and lifted her hands in mock surrender.

“Still. But no, I didn't record it.” Penny said and stood up to begin her shift.

Kim and Cheryl stood up as well but Cheryl held Kim back as Penny left the employees lounge.

“She's lying. She did record it. And the video is ten hours long.” Cheryl said as she checked her phone. 

“Bloody hell, we're dirty girls, with no life apparently.” Kim said smiling. “I come by your place again tonight.”

* * *

The day went slowly at first, just a handful of customers, since it was the afternoon shift and the lunch crowd was out already. But Penny was kept busy, the few tables that were occupied full of hungry people who once again realized her genuine happiness.

It picked up some more as the dinner crowd started to roll in, one group having a dozen people and a birthday boy in it. She knew what that meant once they were done eating, a free piece of cheesecake with a candle in it and she had to sing the happy birthday song to the lucky kid. Not that the boy will enjoy that if the opinions about her singing were valid, which they kind of were.

After thirty minutes of her and her colleague Linda bringing stuff to the group, her smile got even wider when she saw Leonard and his friends enter the Cheesecake Factory. He smiled at her and gave her an air kiss, which she gladly reciprocated. His friends didn't see her do it but as she had said last night, she didn't care anymore if and how they would find out, although it would be most funny if they heard her scream out his name in orgasmic bliss.

She watched them sitting down at their usual table. Sheldon and Raj took out their laptops and started them up. Soon, both of them locked hands and started arm wrestling, while playing something on their computers as Leonard and Howard cheered them on.

“Penny?” Kim and Cheryl approached Penny as she was preparing the piece of birthday cake.

“What is it?”

“What are they doing?” Cheryl asked.

“I have no idea. Arm wrestling and playing something at the same time.” Penny said.

“We've gotten complaints from some customers, can't you go to them and ask them to stop it? It's really annoying.” Kim said.

“Yeah, I'll go talk to them.” Penny said and walked to the guys' table, cake in hand. “Hey, guys, guys, some of the other waitresses wanted me to ask you something.”

“Oh, it’s called trestling.” Leonard said, not waiting for the actual question.

“It combines the physical strength of arm wrestling with the mental agility of tetris into the ultimate sport.” Howard added.

“Yeah, that’s terrific, but what they wanted me to ask you was to cut it the hell out.” she said decisively and waved to Linda, her colleague who worked the birthday table with her. “Right come on guys, come on.”

She sang the happy birthday song with Linda and John as best as she could and gave the cake to the boy who blew out the candle before starting to eat the piece of cake with a smile. She turned back around and saw Leonard watching her. Flashing him the smile she had permanently reserved just for him, she went back to their table, just as the guys were packing up their things.

“So Leonard, will we be seeing you on Saturday for your free birthday cheesecake?” she asked with a grin.

“He can’t eat cheesecake, he’s lactose intolerant.” Sheldon interjected.

“Okay, he can have carrot cake.” Penny tried.

“What about the cream cheese frosting.” Sheldon once again logically interjected, seriously annoying her.

“He can scrape it off.” she said with barely contained exasperation.

“Forget about the cake, how did you know that my birthday is Saturday?” Leonard asked.

“I did your horoscope, remember, I was going to do everybody’s until Sheldon went on one of his typical psychotic rants.”

“For the record, that psychotic rant was a concise summation of the research of Bertram Forer, who in 1948 proved conclusively through meticulously designed experiments, that astrology is nothing but pseudo scientific hokum.” Sheldon explained in his usual fashion.

“Blah blah blah, a typical Taurus. So, seriously, are we going to see you Saturday?”

“Oh, I don’t think so.”

“Why not?” Penny asked disappointed.

“I don’t celebrate my birthday.”

“Shut up, yeah you do.”

“No, it’s no big deal, it’s just the way I was raised. My parents focused on celebrating achievements, and being expelled from a birth canal was not considered one of them.”

“Uh, that’s so silly.”

“It’s actually based on very sound theories, his mother published a paper on it.” Sheldon piped in.

“What was it called, 'I hate my son and that’s why he can’t have cake?'” Penny asked. What kind of hell of a family did Leonard grow up in?

“It was obviously effective, Leonard grew up to be an experimental physicist. Perhaps if she’d also denied him Christmas he’d be a little better at it.”

“Thank you.” Leonard sarcastically said to Sheldon.

“Well I love birthdays, waking up to Mom’s special French Toast breakfast, wearing the birthday king crown, playing laser tag with all my friends.” Howard proudly said.

“Yeah, see, that’s what kids should have.” Penny agreed.

“Actually that was last year.” came the embarrassed explanation.

“So you’ve really never had a birthday party?” she turned back to Leonard.

“No. But it was okay. I mean, when I was little I’d think maybe my parents would change their mind, and surprise me with a party, like this one birthday I came home from my Cello lesson, and I saw a lot of strange cars parked out front, and when I got to the door I could hear people whispering, and I could smell German chocolate cake, which is my favorite.”

“And?”

“Uh, it turns out my grandfather had died.”

“Oh my God, that’s terrible.”

“Oh, it was kind of like a birthday party. I got to see all my cousins and there was cake, so…”

“That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.” Penny said and right now wanted nothing more than to hug him.

“You think?” Howard piped in again. “Go ahead, tell her about your senior prom.”

“What about your senior prom?” she asked.

“Nothing. Shut up Howard.”

“Seriously, sweetie, you and I will have a long talk about this later.” she grinned and walked away.

The next day, Penny paced around her apartment, anxiously awaiting Leonard's departure. She knew from the guys' schedule that today was his turn to get the take-out from the Thai place they usually order from and it gave her the perfect opportunity to execute her plan.

She heard a noise from across the hall and through the peep hole saw Leonard exiting, loudly shouting something about peanuts into the apartment. Seeing his cute tushy brought a smile to her face, thinking back to two nights ago, when she once again had playfully bitten into it during her massage between the fourth and fifth time, although harder than she anticipated.

She waited another minute to make sure he was gone before she went into the hallway and knocked at the door to 4A. Sheldon opened her soon after.

“ Hello Penny. Leonard just left.”

“I know. I want to talk to you.” she told him.

“What would we talk about? We’ve no overlapping areas of interest I’m aware of, and you know I don’t care for chit-chat.”

“Okay, can you just let me in.”

“Well alright, but I don’t see this as a promising endeavor.”

“Okay, here’s the deal, we are going to throw Leonard a kick-ass surprise party for his birthday on Saturday.” she said after quickly turning around to face him after she saw Howard staring at her chest. Might have not been a good idea to wear something that showed that much cleavage, her very short shorts not helping with Howard's staring.

“I hardly think so, Leonard made it very clear he doesn’t want a party.”

“Did someone say party?” Howard jumped up, clearly interested.

“He just doesn’t know he wants one because he’s never had one.” she tried to reason with Sheldon.

“I suppose that’s possible, but for the record, I’ve never had a threesome and yet I still know I want one.” Howard said and once again with only two sentences had managed to creep her out.

“Howard, here’s the difference.” she told him, trying to keep her cool. “The possibility exists that Leonard could have a birthday party before hell freezes over.”

“Fine. If I do have a threesome, you can’t be part of it.” he said defiantly. “I’m just kidding, yes you can. Can you bring a friend?”

“I think a birthday party is a terrible idea. I envy Leonard for growing up without that anguish.” Sheldon brought her reason for visiting back in to the foreground and walked to the kitchen table.

“Anguish?”

“Year after year, I had to endure wearing conical hats while being forced into the crowded sweaty hell of bouncy castles, not to mention being blindfolded and spun towards a grotesque tailless donkey as the other children mocked my disorientation.”

“Okay, sweetie, I understand you have scars that no non-professional can heal, but nevertheless we are going to throw Leonard a birthday party.” she said. This time, she wouldn't accept a no.

“Have I pointed out that I am extremely uncomfortable with dancing, loud music and most other forms of alcohol induced frivolity.”

“Nevertheless we are….” she started.

“In addition I really don’t think that Leonard wants a…” Sheldon continued but she cut him off, finally losing it.

“Okay, here’s the deal, you either help me throw Leonard a birthday party or, so help me God, I will go into your bedroom and I will unbag all of your most valuable mint condition comic books. And on one of them, you won’t know which, I’ll draw a tiny happy face in ink.”

“You can’t do that, if you make a mark on a mint comic book it’s no longer mint.” he said, of course not getting her threat.

“Sheldon, do you understand the concept of blackmail?” she clarified.

“Well of course I…” he started and she could see the coin drop. “Oh! Yeah, I have an idea, let’s throw Leonard a kick ass birthday party.” he said to Raj and Howard. He turned back and looked at her with a serious face. She tried to return the glare but the thought of throwing a party for her sweetie had her grinning widely.

* * *

Saturday had finally rolled around, the two previous days a prime example of boring tedium. Her shifts were boring, tips were low and as if laughing at her, mother nature had decided that on Leonard's birthday weekend her body needed to its monthly “clean up”. She had planned a very romantic and active night for her and Leonard after the party but this development had sadly put a kibosh on it.

Now she stood in her bedroom, looking at what she would be wearing for the party. She had decided on long dark jeans and a long yellow top whose cut didn't allow for a bra, something she was sure Leonard would approve, knowing what was under there. She put the top on and heard a knock on the apartment door and heard the same knocking sequence again when nothing happened.

“Is that Raj and Howard?” she called out to the living room.

“Possibly, but unverified.” came Sheldon's reply as she left the bedroom and closed the door. No way would Howard be allowed to even peek in it.

“So, what did you get the birthday boy?” she asked the two newcomers.

“Well, Raj got him an awesome limited edition Dark Knight sculpture based on Alex Ross’s definitive Batman, and I got him this amazing autographed copy of the Feynman lectures on physics.” Howard replied for both of them, Raj's condition keeping him quiet around her.

“Nice. I got him a sweater.” she said. _'Holy crap, they got him some amazing stuff which must have cost a fortune. But luckily for me, I am be able to give him something you never can. Although not this week.'_ she thought and grinned inside.

“Okay, well, he might like that, I’ve seen him… chilly.” Howard commented her gift.

“Uh, Sheldon, I didn’t see your present.” she told the lanky physicist.

“That’s because I didn’t bring one.” came the reply.

“Well why not?”

“Don’t ask.” Howard tried to stop her.

“The entire institution of gift giving makes no sense. Let’s say that I go out and I spend fifty dollars on you, it’s a laborious activity, because I have to imagine what you need, whereas you know what you need. Now I can simplify things, just give you the fifty dollars directly and, you could give me fifty dollars on my birthday, and so on until one of us dies leaving the other one old and fifty dollars richer. And I ask you, is it worth it?” came Sheldon's long and tedious answer.

“Told you not to ask.” Howard told her.

“Well, Sheldon, you’re his friend. Friends give each other presents.”

“I accept your premise, I reject your conclusion.”

“Try telling him it’s a non-optional social convention.” Howard whispered to her and saw her confused look. “Just do it.”

“It’s a non-optional social convention.” she repeated loudly to Sheldon.

“Oh. Fair enough.” Sheldon said and Penny looked at Howard with a surprised look.

“He came with a manual.” the engineer said.

“Question, how am I going to get Leonard a present before the party? I don’t drive, and the only things available within walking distance are a Thai restaurant and a gas station. I suppose I could wrap up an order of mee krob and a couple of lottery scratchers.”

“Okay, let’s do this, um, I will drive Sheldon to get a present, and Howard, you need to get rid of Leonard for about two hours.”

“No problem.”

“And then Raj, you bring the stuff across the hall and start setting up.” she ordered and as answer, Raj whispered something into Howard's ear.

“What if guests show up?”

“Entertain them.”

“What if they’re women?”

“Stare at them and make them feel uncomfortable.” she said jokingly but Raj only lifted his thumbs as she left with Sheldon.

* * *

She decided to drive them to an electronic store, figuring it would be the most likely place for Sheldon to find something for Leonard. She just hoped that he would be quick in choosing something, she wanted to be back in time to yell out surprise with the others when he walked in.

“Alright, you know they have DVDs over there.” she told him after they went into the store.

“Yes, but they have DVD burners over here. Leonard needs a DVD burner.” Sheldon replied and went into another isle.

“Sheldon, a gift shouldn’t be something someone needs, it should be something fun, you know, something they wouldn’t buy for themselves.” she tried to reason with him.

“You mean, like a sweater?”

_'Oh sweetie, if only you knew what kind of fun I had planned for Leonard after the party if mother nature hadn't intervened.'_ she thought. “Well, it’s a fun sweater, it’s got a bold geometric print. The point is, one of the ways we show we care about people is by putting thought and imagination into the gifts we give them.”

“Okay, I see, so not a DVD burner. Something he wouldn’t buy for himself. Something fun. Something like… oh, an 802.11n wireless router.”

“What?”

“A router. A small box that allows us to connect to the World Wide Web. And need I remind you, it also allows you to connect to the World Wide Web since Leonard keeps giving you the passwords that I keep changing.”

“That's something you have to live with. Either I get the passwords so I can surf in my apartment or I will come over whenever I need to go online and use your laptop.”

“Fine.” Sheldon said and picked up two boxes with different routers. “What do you think.” he asked her, as if she could have an opinion.

“Um, that one.” she said, pointing to the one in his left hand.

“Because of the two additional Ethernet ports?”

“Um, sure.”

“He doesn’t need them, he’s already got a 640 connect switch.“ he said and Penny understood exactly nothing.

“Oh, okay the other one.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, the man on the box looks so happy.”

“Penny! If I’m going to buy Leonard a gift, I’m going to do it right. I refuse to let him experience the same childhood trauma I did.”

“Oh, I know I’m going to regret this but, what trauma?”

“On my twelfth birthday I really wanted a titanium centrifuge, so, you know, I could separate radioactive isotopes. Instead, my parents bought me… wow, this is hard. They got me… a motorized dirt bike.”

“No?” she asked with mock shock.

“What twelve year old boy wants a motorized dirt bike?”

“All of them!” she said.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Okay, so we’re getting this one?”

“Yeah, I suppose.” he said and turned to go when a woman walked towards them.

“Excuse me, do you know anything about this stuff?” the woman asked Sheldon.

“I know everything about this stuff.” Sheldon replied in his usual manner.

“Okay, I have my own wholesale flower business, and I want to hook up my computer in the front entrance with the one in my refrigerated warehouse.”

“Here, buy this one. Look, it’s the one we’re getting, see, happy guy available.” Penny said, pointing to the second router he had picked. She desperately wanted to get out of here, they had a party to get back to.

“No, no, no, no, she doesn’t want that, she needs a point to point peer network with a range extender.” Sheldon said and turned to the woman who thanked him.

“Which hard drive do I want, Firewire or USB?” a male stranger walked up to and asked them and Penny put her head into her hands. This was going to be a long afternoon.

“Sheldon, we have to go.” she tried to get him out.

“Not now, Penny, this poor man needs me.” he replied just as a second woman closed in on them. Yep, a long afternoon.

* * *

Penny walked creases between the isles, waiting for Sheldon to finish doing whatever he was doing but more and more people approached him. He even went to one of the store computers and started looking through the inventory.

“Sheldon, we need to leave now.” she tried again.

“Penny, these people need my help. It's my obligation to help them.”

“Sheldon, you don't work here. Let people who work here help them. We need to get home.”

“Not now Penny.” Sheldon said and turned back to the guy he was helping currently.

She cursed and walked away just as her cellphone rang. She saw the caller ID and Howard's name. Cursing once more, she picked up the call.

“Penny, look, I’ve got a problem.” he told her without a greeting.

“Yeah, well so do I, look you’ve got to stall Leonard a little longer.” she said when she saw that the number of people with questions had even increased.

“I don’t think I can.” came the engineer's reply.

“You have to, we all have to be there at the same time to yell surprise.”

“Okay, you have to understand something, we’re in a hospital right now.”

“Why, is Leonard okay.” she asked, suddenly concerned. If anything had happened to her sweetie, she would leave Sheldon here, and he could walk home.

“Leonard’s fine. I’m fine, thanks for asking, by the way.”

“Okay, I don’t need your attitude, just hold him there a little longer.” she said, getting a bit miffed.

“Look, I’ve done my best but he wants to go home and I don’t know how to stop him.” he told her. Penny thought what to say when a thought hit her that might interest him.

“Okay, how about this. You keep him there a little longer and when you get to the party I’ll point out which of my friends are easy.” she said and suddenly the connection went very quiet. She checked her phone to see if the call was still ongoing and found nothing amiss.

“Don’t toy with me, woman.” Howard finally said.

“Listen, I’ve got a hot former fat girl with no self-esteem, I’ve got a girl who punishes her father by sleeping around and an alcoholic who’s two tequila shots away from letting you wear her like a hat.” she told him and the line was quiet once again.

“Thy will be done.” Howard said and hung up.

An hour later, Penny had enough. Sheldon had taken everybody’s questions and helped them along. He never was that helpful at home, why here all of a sudden? After he broke into the store computer system, she was fed up enough.

“Excuse me.” she called to a store employee, getting his attention. She tried to ignore the fact that the guy was blatantly checking her out.

“How may I help you?” the guy asked her.

“You can help me by getting my friend out of your store.”

“Is he doing something that disturbs the others?”

“No, he's doing what you are supposed to be doing, helping the other customers with their problems but we have a birthday party to get to and I can't wait any longer.”

“There's nothing wrong with helping other people.”

“But he's also broken into your store computer system to check the inventory.”

“Okay, that's not allowed. Take me to him.”

Penny took the guy through the aisles to where Sheldon was standing at one of the store computers, talking to a woman.

“Him.” she told the shop employee, pointing at Sheldon.

“Excuse me Sir. ” the man started. “You don't work here.”

“Yes, well, apparently neither does anyone else.” came Sheldon's reply.

“Sheldon, we have to go.” Penny implored him.

“Why?”

“Well, for one thing, we’re late for Leonard’s birthday party. And for another, I told him to call security.”

“Good luck.” Sheldon said to the customer and turned to the shop employee. “By the way, a six year-old could hack your computer system. 1-2-3-4 is not a secure password.”

“I can't believe you Sheldon.” Penny said after both had entered her car.

“What on earth are you talking about? I was just helpful.”

“You were supposed to get a gift for Leonard, nothing else. Nobody asked you to become store assistant for a day.”

“What was I supposed to do? These people needed my help.”

“Then they should ask an employee. They get paid to help their customers.”

“You saw what I saw, there wasn't any around.”

“That's because nobody looked for one because they had a guy who knew everything about everything that they could pester.”

“Calm down Penny and watch the road please.”

“I swear to god, if we get home and Leonard is already there, I will shove your head in my hamper full of dirty clothes.” she threatened and was rewarded with eyes that were almost falling out of their sockets.

“Penny, could you drive faster please?” he asked quietly.

“But Sheldon, if I drive any faster, I'm going to break traffic law.” she said sweetly.

“Screw the traffic laws, drive faster.” he yelled hysterically and Penny floored it.

* * *

Penny ran up the stairs and into the apartment. The guests that were present started to yell surprise until they realized who had just entered. Penny walked over to Raj, who had a beer in hand.

“So I guess that means he's not here yet.” she said to the Indian.

“Yep. And I did you what asked and stared at the girls for a while until I had beer.”

“Yeah, and since then he grossed us out with words.” Cheryl said and closed in on Penny. “Hey girl. Where is Leonard?”

“I hope he's on his way. Howard was supposed to distract him and they drove to the hospital for some reason. I told him to keep him there a while longer until I got Sheldon out of that store but I'm getting worried.”

“Don't worry, I'm sure they will be okay.” Cheryl said and walked away.

Penny saw the guests opening bottles of alcoholic beverages and starting to eat. It seemed that she wouldn't be able to stop the beginning of the party after all. Sheldon tried his hardest to unnerve the guests by explaining how unsanitary it was to share a bottle of alcohol without using glasses but his objections fell on deaf ears.

Penny sat down on the window sill, watching the the road with concern. She tried calling both Howard's and Leonard's cellphone over and over again but both went straight to voice mail. She took the beer someone shoved into her hand and took a few sips, but her appetite was non-existent because of the worry for her sweetie.

As she was sitting there, looking out the window with concern in her eyes, two of the guests were conversing in low tones.

“We're still on for the plan?” Cheryl asked Kim.

“I guess so.” Kim replied.

“What do you mean? Having second thoughts now?”

“I don't know. It's kind of a horrible thing we're planning. I mean, I know we swore to do it after watching that ten-hour video...”

“Yeah, seriously, how could she walk after that. I mean, we watched her ride him hard, then he took her from behind, then she rode him again, then she rode his face, then they did it on the floor, we heard them do it in the shower....” Cheryl recounted.

“I wasn't finished. Look at her, she's scared.” Kim said and pointed at Penny who was still sitting at the window, looking out the to the street. “Listen, I don't think I can do through with our plan. Seeing her like this breaks my heart.”

“Your right. Okay, the plan is scrapped. Lets just be happy for her. Maybe I take Raj home again. He was good, if not as good as Leonard seems to be, if these recordings are true.”

Both girls went back to the party, trying to enjoy themselves. Cheryl tried to get Raj to talk to her, but she saw Marlene, a friend of Penny, jumping on his back and climbing up to sit on his shoulders, a bottle of booze in hand.

* * *

After almost two hours of sitting at the window, Penny couldn't feel her butt anymore. She hopped up and walked around a bit, seeing her friends drinking and eating and generally having a good time, despite the fact that the birthday boy wasn't there.

She took her phone and started recording, so Leonard could at least see what she had originally had planned for him. She saw her friends Marco and Silvio doing jello shots, clearly drunk while their girlfriends cheered them on. Sheldon looked like a lost puppy, complaining to every guest he came close to how dirty they were leaving the place. He even started to clean up after the people only to watch them throw more stuff to the floor. She saw Marlene sitting on Raj's shoulders, letting him wear her like a hat, it seemed she had had that one tequila shot that took her over the top. She held the phone into Raj's face.

“Hey Raj, say something for Leonard, in case the party ends before he's back.”

“Okay Leonard, here I am at your birthday party, I don’t know where you are dude, but it’s really kick-ass. Everyone is very very drunk, and uh...” he said but had to stop as Marlene put the bottle to his mouth and made him drink more. “Oh look, there’s a girl taking her shirt off.”

Penny turned around with the phone and saw Carol doing exactly that, lifting her shirt over her head to flash her bra-less chest to every guest in the room. She kept her phone on her for a few seconds until she realized that she wanted to show this to Leonard and the last thing she wanted was for him to see another woman's bare breasts.

After another hour, most of the guests were drunk and most of the alcohol was gone. One after another, the people she had invited left the apartment, leaving only her, Sheldon and Raj. She helped Sheldon clean up as best as possible while Raj kept drinking the beer that was left and singing loudly and massively off key to the guys' rock star game. And despite his singing, she soon fell asleep after sitting down on the couch.

* * *

She woke up when she heard Raj yell the word 'Surprise'. She opened her sleepy eyes and saw Leonard and Howard standing in the doorway, looking at the place with a mixture of astonishment and disappointment.

“Surprise!” she weakly called out, waking up Sheldon in the process.

“What's going on? Where are the girls?” Howard asked.

“Everybody left about an hour ago. They had finished the food and drinks and got bored.” Penny replied.

“Have you any idea what I had to endure?!” Howard shouted. “The least you could do was hold your three friends here who sleep with anybody. Come on Raj, get dressed. I take you home.”

Penny didn't say anything as Raj did as he was told and he and Howard left the apartment, the engineer throwing her an angry look before closing the door. She sat back down and mentioned for Leonard to join her.

“Leonard, happy birthday.” Sheldon said and handed him a gift.

“A router.” Leonard said sarcastically. “Thanks Sheldon, just what I needed.”

“Told you.” the lanky physicist said to Penny before heading into his bedroom. Leonard unpacked the gifts Howard and Raj had gotten him before he found the sweater Penny had bought him.

“Ah, thanks, sweetheart.” he said and gave her a chaste kiss.

“What had Howard to endure?” she asked.

“Every test you can imagine, including a colonoscopy.”

“Holy crap. But here, I recorded some of the party.” she said and held her phone up in front of them.

They watched people drinking, eating and having fun, except Sheldon of course, who tried to clean up every few minutes. When they got to the part with Raj, Penny couldn't stop grinning.

“Okay Leonard, here I am at your birthday party, I don’t know where you are dude, but it’s really kick-ass. Everyone is very very drunk, and oh look, there’s a girl taking her shirt off.” they heard coming out of the speaker.

“You hired a stripper?” he asked jokingly.

“That’s my friend Carol. Remind me, I’ve got to introduce her to Howard.” she said. “Okay, enough staring at another woman's breasts.” she continued and took the phone away from him.

“Spoilsport.” he grinned at her.

“I’m so sorry you didn’t get your party.” she said and put her arm around his shoulders.

“Oh, it’s okay. Maybe you try next year but this time not a surprise party.”

“Happy birthday anyways.” she stated and grabbed his head, bringing her lips to his. She softly kept kissing him for a while until she thought of something she could do to make it up for him.

“Leonard, come with me.” she said and grabbed his hand before exiting his apartment.

* * *

She led him into her apartment and as soon as the door closed, her lips were fused to his. He eagerly accepted her tongue and their bodies were pressed together as if fused. Their tongues were once more engaged in a fierce battle for dominance and their hands roamed unabashedly over the others body, exploring every curve and contour.

Leonard's hands wandered from her back to her hips and finally settled on her ass, giving it hard squeezes through her denim that made her moan. Her own hands did the same to him before going into the front of his pants. She rubbed over his crotch, feeling his manhood stiffen and grow inside.

When his lips went from her mouth to her neck, sucking on her pulse point and driving her crazy with want, both remembered a small detail that made any progress impossible.

“Wait Penny, I thought this weekend we couldn't do anything because... you know.” Leonard said, his hands still on her butt.

“I know. Mother nature has herself proven to be a woman, for she is a bitch for doing it this week of all times.” she agreed.

“It's okay. It's a natural thing.”

“Yeah, but it's still unfair. You guys don't have that.” she said.

“Which is a good thing. Imagine us males in that condition. Our penchant for immense hyperbole and our need for constant care when we think we are sick would make something like this untenable.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, if we males are sick, we want the world to know it. Think about Sheldon for example. If he gets a simple cold, he treats it like the plague. Now imagine males having the period. We would probably carry our tampons inside a golf bag. Or when we hang out with other guys, our conversations would go something like this. 'Hey Frank, how's it going?' 'Don't get me started. Last night I thought I was bleeding out. And what does my girlfriend do? That woman just sleeps there as if nothing was wrong!'”

Penny laughed at the image and the way he threw his voice and immediately felt better. This was another example of how great the relationship with Leonard was in comparison with other guys. They could have an easy banter filled with innuendo and most importantly, he was genuinely funny and was always able to make her laugh if she needed one.

“You know, even if sex is off the table, there is one thing I want to give you for your birthday. Something I couldn't give you with others around.” she said seductively.

“Oh? And what is that?”

“Come with me and I show you.” she said, took his hand and led him into her bedroom.

She pushed him onto the bed and slowly took off her pants and shirt, leaving her standing just in her panties. She saw the bulge in Leonard's pants rising and was happy that even when she felt bloated and ugly, he was still rising to the occasion just by looking at her almost naked body.

She crawled over his body and kissed him hard, letting her teeth graze his lower lip and soothing it with her tongue. She ground her hips on his groin, eliciting a moan from him. She couldn't prevent a moan as well, her movements making her horny despite the fact that she couldn't satisfy her urges today.

She slid down his body until her head had reached his lower abdomen. She lifted his shirt up and kissed his stomach, letting her tongue run around his bellybutton. She continued kissing downwards until his skin disappeared under his pants. She quickly unbuttoned it and pulled it down, taking his boxers with it and freeing his already hard erection from its confinement.

She grinned as it snapped upright after the hem of the shorts released it and unconsciously licked her lips. She had thought long about this and was still hesitant but she had ultimately decided that he had earned it. He seemed to have figured it out as soon as she had unbuttoned his pants because the way he had his hands behind his head and watched her told her that he knew what was coming.

Not wanting to disappoint, she lowered her head again. Taking his erection into her hand, she softly started stroking it and kissed the base before running her tongue along his shaft to the top. He moaned loudly as she reached the sensitive top and to prevent him from experiencing any unease, she took the tip into her mouth, moistening it and gently sucking on it.

She ran her tongue down on the other side back to the base all the while continuing to stroke him. She lifted her eyes and saw his smiling face, eyes closed and head back on the pillow, enjoying her ministrations.

She took the tip back into her mouth and pushed down, taking him in half way and sucking hard. A satisfied hiss from him told her that she had done a good job so she repeated the whole thing several times before pushing down more, taking him in completely.

“Wow!” she shouted as she swallowed, the movement of her throat massaging his tip in ways that her tongue was unable to.

“Did you like that?” she asked after she had released him.

“So very much. Please do that again.” he said and she complied by once again taking him in completely, her lips touching his base and swallowing several times, getting another sharp hiss of ecstasy each time she did it.

She pressed her lips together as hard as she could and bobbed her head up and down, always starting at the tip and going down to the base. His breathing told her more than words could describe and now she realized how he must feel when his head was buried between her legs and she shouted out her ecstasy.

She continued her movements and let her tongue move with her lips, pressing it against his shaft as she moved up and down. After almost ten minutes, she let her tongue swirl hard around his tip every time she was up before ramming her head down hard and swallowing. His breathing was already sharp and she wondered how long it would take.

For five more minutes, she kept going until she felt her neck muscles straining with the movements. She couldn't go on like this for much longer. She realized by his breathing, that he tried to hold back for some reason but what that could be she had no idea. This wasn't supposed to be foreplay since nothing more could happen tonight. Well one thing could but she was far away from allowing him to do that.

“Leonard.” she said after releasing him again.

“What?” he asked, his breathing heavy.

“Don't hold back. This is your birthday and you did so much more for me during those last months.” she said and dove back in, pushing her head rapidly up and down.

His hands went from behind his head to the back of hers, pushing her down and pulling her up in sync with her movements. She once again heard his breathing hitch and knew he was close. _'Just a little more'_ she thought _'Only a few more seconds and...'_

Any more thoughts were whisked from her mind as Leonard pushed her down completely and held her there. She felt his manhood twitch and with a loud groan from him he exploded inside her, spilling his seed into her mouth and throat.

Now Penny felt validated as to why she never did this before because this feeling wasn't pleasant. She rode out his orgasm as his testicles pumped out every drop they had stored and even after he stopped twitching he didn't let go. She pushed at his hands and he got the hint, letting her go. She lifted her head and stood up before holding up her hand to forestall any words he could say right now. She ran into her bathroom and spit out what he had spilled into her.

She rinsed her mouth with water and some mouthwash. It wasn't that his cum tasted vile but its stickiness was a very unpleasant feeling. She returned to the bedroom and saw Leonard lying on her bed, hoody off and shorts back on. He mentioned next to him and she got into bed, laying her head on his chest and her arm over his stomach.

“So, I hope you liked this better than the sweater I got you.”

“The sweater wasn't that bad. But yes, this way worlds apart.”

“Good. I thought my gift stank compared to the stuff your friends got you.”

“Penny. The worth of the gift is not what's important, it's the thought behind it that counts.”

“You're sweet. Please don't be mad but what I did today will stay a rare occurrence.”

“Why? You did that before.”

“Not to the end, just as foreplay. But having your spill inside my mouth is a really nasty feeling.”

“Really? That bad?”

“Want to experience something similar?”

“What? Are you crazy? I won't blow some guy.”

“Ewww, Leonard, not that. Wait here.” Penny said and got up. She went into her kitchen area, still only clad in her panties and got a saltshaker, two bottles and two glasses. She filled each glass with one of the liquids and went with both glasses and the saltshaker back into the bedroom.

“You know, I love to watch you walk around naked. You breasts always bounce when you move, it's the most amazing view.”

“Aww, thanks. You can play with them later, I promise. But for now, here.” she said and handed him both glasses and the saltshaker.

“What do I do?”

“First you put a bit of the salt on your tongue, next you drink this.” she said and pointed to the glass in his right hand. “And before you swallow, you drink that.” she continued and pointed to the other glass.

“Okay.” he complied and did as he was told.

As soon as he had drank the second glass, his facial expression turned from curious to tortured. Leonard had to try his hardest to fight the gag reflex that was threatening to overwhelm him and barely managed to swallow the vile liquid in his mouth. He choked and tears sprung into his eyes but finally the feeling was gone and he could breath normally again.

“Holy crap, what the hell was that?” he asked and coughed once more.

“This drink is called blowjob's revenge. This is what it felt like when you came into my mouth.”

“Okay, I see what happened. The lime juice made the cream in the baileys curdle and the salt made those curdles bitter. That's what caused the gag reflex.”

“Right. And now you know why I don't like doing that.”

“Then why did you do it today?”

“It was a gift. For one, because originally I had planned to bring out the rubber band again so we could have an hour long love fest like we had before. And two, you gave me so many orgasms with you tongue and mouth, I felt you deserved it.”

“Okay Penny. I will never demand that you do what you did today. I won't say no if you want to do it but I will never force you to get me off like that.”

“Thanks. But don't worry, I will still blow you during foreplay. I really love it when we sixty-nine.”

“Please stop talking Penny. It makes me want you despite knowing that I can't have you.”

“You can have me again in a few days, I promise.” Penny grinned at him and cuddled back into his chest, enjoying his scent. They lay like this for a few minutes until she heard his stomach grumble.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

“No.” he replied. “But this is my cue to go. Tonight I have to sleep in my bed.”

“Why?”

“Because you gave me baileys to drink.”

“Yeah, and?”

“Baileys has cream in it. I'm lactose intolerant and if I don't leave now, this place will probably become uninhabitable.”

“Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I forgot about that.”

“It's okay.” he said and put on his pants before taking his hoody and holding it under his arm.

She threw on a shirt and accompanied him to the door where they stood for a few seconds, looking at each other.

“Penny, thanks again for what you did today. Not just.. you know... but also the party.”

“You mean the party we had without you because Howard had a colonoscopy?”

“Yeah but it's the thought that counts.” he said smiling.

“Happy birthday Leonard.” she said and kissed him one last time before he left her apartment. And despite the fact that she couldn't have sex with him, she felt content knowing that he appreciated what she did for him today. And before she went to bed, she deactivated the recorder on her phone again before taking it with her into bed and watching herself doing what she never had wanted to do to a guy.

But with Leonard it was different. With him, she would probably overcome any reservations regarding her sex life even if it's just to pay him back for his generosity. God knows he deserved everything she could give him.

* * *

**And on that note, this chapter ends here. The next one will be the season finale :D**

**Review please :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, here's the season finale. But I really have to apologize this time. Since everyone who commented on it wanted me to go into season two, I laid the groundwork in this chapter. But the downside was, that the chapter has reached more than 11.000 words O.o**

**Still, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.**

* * *

"You know, the birthday party was fun despite the fact that the birthday boy wasn't in attendance." Cheryl said and took a sip of her wine. "By the way, what exactly kept him?"

"He had to wait for Howard until the doctors were done." Penny replied.

"Oh my god, what happened?"

"I told Howard to keep Leonard distracted until the party was ready. And from what he had told me, he acted as if he had eaten something with peanuts to which he is highly allergic too."

"Wait, he put himself in danger just to get your boyfriend out of his apartment?"

"No, he just pretended he did. But when they were at the hospital, I was stuck in that electronics store with Sheldon and I had to tell him to keep Leonard distracted a while longer."

"And then?"

"Apparently, he ate the candy bar with peanuts so he would have a real allergic reaction. And according to Leonard, the hospital was afraid of being sued for ignoring Howard for that long and they subjected him to every test they have, including a colonoscopy. That's why they took so long. They came back about an hour after all of you had left.”

“Too bad. What did he say to the sweater you bought him?”

“He said he liked it but I know that it stunk in comparison with the things the guys bought him. Well, except Sheldon's. But he told me that it was the thought that counts. And I also gave him a gift only I could give him.”

“Really?” Cheryl grinned. “Wait, I thought that last week you couldn't... you know.”

“True. But I did something else that involved him being naked.” Penny said smiling.

“Damn girl. So, how was it?”

“Disgusting. But I thought he deserved it. And it was his birthday.”

“Well, if you think about what he does to you with his tongue...” Cheryl started but went quiet.

“Wait, how do you know that?” Penny asked suspicious.

“Um... well... the recordings you showed us. Me and Kim heard you comment about it during your foreplay.”

“Okay...” Penny said, still not really believing her.

“Listen, can I use your bathroom?” Cheryl asked.

“Sure.” Penny replied, wondering what was wrong with her. Cheryl was her guest today, of course she could use her bathroom.

When her guest had disappeared, Penny her Cheryl's phone, that was lying on the table, beep. It wasn't a missed call or received message beep. Overcome with curiosity, Penny picked up it up and unlocked the display.

“Copy of new files finished.” Penny read aloud. “What the hell?”

She checked the folder and found the files that had been copied. When she saw not only the audio files she had recorded but also the videos she had taken of her and Leonard during sex, her eyes went wide. There was her first video she did with him after the time machine incident. The next one where she had placed the camera in a perfect spot to see the penetration in the positions she had done with him. Her eight times all-nighter, all ten hours of it. Her blowjob.

She could feel her face turning red but she didn't know if it was from shame or rage. How did she even get this? Penny never authorized any copying of files. The silver lining was that at least her hundreds of pictures she had taken of herself in various poses and degrees of clothing.

“What are you doing with my phone?” Cheryl's voice interrupted her thinking.

“I think the bigger question is, what are my video files doing on your phone?” Penny shouted and Cheryl kept quiet. “I'm waiting!”

“Um... listen Penny... this isn't what you think it is.”

“Really? I think you either hacked or hijacked my phone to copy my recordings to yours.”

“Well... yeah... but I... we... we just wanted to...”

“We? Let me guess, you coaxed Kim into participating.”

“Penny, we only wanted to witness what you always described to us. You constantly made us jealous when you came into the Cheesecake Factory glowing like a lamp after receiving yet another half a dozen orgasms.”

“Get out. I can't even look at you right now.” Penny said menacingly.

“Listen Penny, I'm really sorry, can't we just talk about it?”

“I said, leave.”

“Okay but please don't be too mad...”

“Get out!” Penny shouted and Cheryl took a step towards the door.

“But you still have my...”

“I SAID GET OUT!” she yelled on top of her lungs and grabbed her baseball bat, holding it in the ready position while she moved towards Cheryl.

Cheryl wisely didn't say anything else and ran out of the apartment and down the stairs. Penny knew that they would have to talk it out at one point or working together at the Cheesecake Factory would become impossible. And Kim was in on it too? She knew that her friends were dirty sluts sometimes but this was over the top. She felt violated, worse than after moving in and having Sheldon breaking in to clean. At least he didn't do it to remove her blanket and stare at her body.

Penny paced around her apartment, fuming. Muttering curses about Cheryl and Kim to herself, she realized that she was still holding Cheryl's phone in her hand. She would have to give it back but right now she was too mad to give it to her in person. She went outside into the hallway and stormed into the guys' apartment without knocking.

“I need to use your window.” she said after entering and seeing Sheldon and Howard on the couch and Leonard standing in the living room.

“Oh, yeah sure, go ahead.” Leonard told her and she could see the confusion in his eyes. She went to the window and opened it.

“Hey bitch, you forgot your phone!” she yelled and threw the phone she had been holding out on the street, Cheryl rushing to guess the spot where it might land to maybe catch it. Penny didn't stay at the window to watch if she was successful, right now she didn't care.

“What’s going on?” Leonard asked as she stomped back towards the door.

“Oh, I’ll tell you what’s going on, that stupid bitch took the videos and audio files that I recorded...” she started but stopped before she could say 'of us having sex'. She hadn't told him about it and didn't know how he'd react. But what she did know was, that if Howard learned that she had salacious pictures and videos of herself on her phone, another hack wasn't long in coming. Instead, she smiled at him. “Thank you for letting me use the window.” she said instead and stormed out.

* * *

After Penny had stormed back into her apartment, she let herself fall on the couch, lifting her knees to her chin and holding them tight. She really felt violated and knew that at one point she would have to tell Leonard why she threw that phone out the window. At least he would probably be able to tell her how Cheryl had done that.

Her thoughts went to the point where she had to tell Leonard about the videos and what his reaction would be. _'He could be mad at me for doing it, which would be bad because I actually like watching myself with him.'_ she thought. _'Second option, he doesn't care, which isn't good but also not bad. Third option would be a positive reaction and we could make more private movies for ourselves and I wouldn't have to hide the phone. And we could save them on his or my...'_

“Penny, are you okay?” Leonard said through the door after knocking on it, distracting her from her train of thought. She wasn't okay and she wanted his presence around her but she was still too mad at Cheryl to have a reasonable conversation.

“I’m fine, Leonard, just go away.” she said instead.

“Look, I don't know what caused your outburst or at whom it was directed…”

“GO AWAY!” she shouted and immediately felt bad. He didn't deserve this. “LEONARD, WAIT.”

She was relieved when the door opened and her sweetie came into the apartment, an apprehensive look on his face.

“Come here.” she said and patted the space on the couch next to her. He came over and as soon as he had sat down, she put her arm around him and snuggled into his chest.

“Penny, what is it? Whose phone was it that you threw out.” he asked and held her tight, rubbing his hand up and down her back.

“I don't know if I can tell you. Just hold me please.”

He did as she asked and held her tight. In his arms, she felt content, enjoying his scent. Her right hand started playing with the locks on his head as his left arm squeezed her waist while his right continued his ministrations to her back.

“It was Cheryl's phone.” Penny said after a few minutes of silence.

“Okay. And why did you throw it out our window?”

“Because my window faces the back of the building and she was in front.”

“Um, let me rephrase that. Why did you throw her phone at her instead of giving it to her?”

“I'm kinda furious at her for something she did.”

“Was it that bad?”

“Kind of yeah. She did something really horrible that violated my trust on an intimate level.”

“Now I'm really curious.”

“Tell me the truth.” Penn said, ignoring his last sentence. “Did I overreact?”

“Well, without knowing what exactly happened I can't say for sure. But you do have a temper when you're provoked.”

“Hey.” Penny said and playfully swatted his chest.

“See what I mean? Already hitting me again.”

“You said I have a temper.”

“I never said it was exclusively a bad thing. I love it when you, for example, go crazy in bed, like you did during the fourth time of our all-nighter.”

Penny felt her entire body grow hot when she thought back to that night and to the specific time he referred to. During their fourth time, she had ridden him like the first time and had constantly given rodeo yells before she had turned around on him and reverse cowgirl'd him, bouncing hard up and down so her g-spot got a lot of attention from his manhood. As she came hard, she had jumped up and slammed her heat on his mouth, grinding hard while his tongue and fingers prolonged her orgasm to an almost unbearable length. She had let him finish in missionary after that before they took another break.

“I haven't heard you complaining.” she said with a shaky voice.

“Well, I couldn't with my tongue inside your folds, could I.” he grinned.

“Shut up.” she smiled at him.

“Let me ask you something.” Leonard started. “Would you want to lose Cheryl as a friend over whatever it is she did?”

“You just have to ask the tough question, don't you?” she sighed. “I guess not. What do you suggest.”

“Talk it out? Without you going all Nebraska on her.”

“I can try. Thanks Leonard.” she said and kissed him softly. “If you were a woman, you'd be my best friend.”

“Since I know how your insides feel, I don't ever want to be a woman. No offense.”

“None taken. I love your piece of man meat.” she grinned and ran her hand over his crotch. “Okay, I think I'll go over to her.”

“Have fun. Not too much fun obviously. Although, if you get tipsy, you tend to get horny, so call me and I'll pick you up.” he smiled and left with her.

“Ha ha. Just for that, you won't get any tonight.”

“We'll see.” Leonard winked at her and went into his apartment, leaving her blushing on the stairs.

“Dammit, I need to ride him again tonight. How can he get me so horny with just a wink.” she muttered to herself as she went down the stairs.

* * *

Penny drove to Cheryl's apartment block and found its door open. Going up the stairs, she again shook her head at not taking the elevator. But here it was only three flights of stairs and she was used to it.

When she reached the third floor, she was about to knock at the door when she saw that it wasn't closed properly. It looked like as if Cheryl had tried to slam her door shut but it didn't lock properly and stayed open enough to push it completely open.

She quietly opened the door and went into the short hallway of Cheryl's apartment that connected to her living room. She heard voices from inside and recognized Cheryl and Kim's voice. She stopped in the hallway and perked up her ears.

“...and then she threw my phone out the window.” Cheryl finished her sentence.

“Jesus, I sure am glad I wasn't there. But I told you that would happen if she ever found out.”

“Yeah, but come on, you liked those videos too.”

“I did. Although I hated myself for it.” Kim stated, making Penny smile a bit. At least Kim felt guilty.

“I really need to apologize to her once she has calmed down.” Cheryl said.

“Be happy that we scrapped our plan to make them drunk until she passes out so we could seduce Leonard at his birthday party. Now we can return the blond wigs. If she had found out about that, she'd probably have killed you on the spot and your body would already be on its way to a landfill.” Kim said and Penny saw red as Cheryl threw Kim an angry look.

She was about to step into the living room and hurt those two but kept herself in check. She took several deep breaths, filling her head with the fact that they didn't execute their plan and with pictures of Leonard pleasuring her. Anything to get endorphins rushing through her body to quench the flames of rage burning inside her before she ran into the living room and committed a homicide.

She turned around and quietly left the apartment, refraining from slamming Cheryl's door. She voiced her rage as she reached the ground floor, grumbling loudly and chasing a neighbor of Cheryl into the basement. She did slam the door of the entire block before she drove off.

After reaching her own building, she stomped up the stairs and entered her apartment, slamming the door shut loudly. Her way of return didn't go unnoticed and soon enough, a knock was heard on her door again.

“Come in Leonard.” she said, validated in her assumption when her boyfriend opened the door.

“Everything alright?” he asked and his concern warmed her heart and quenched her rage.

“Not really. I went to Cheryl and found Kim there too. Her door was open so I didn't knock and I overheard an interesting conversation.”

“About?”

“US!” she shouted. “They had planned to get us both drunk at your birthday party until I pass out so they can seduce you.”

“Really?” he replied. “They wanted to seduce me? Why?”

“Okay, first of all, wipe that smile off your face. And second, I kinda bragged about you.”

“Oh, you did.” he grinned.

“I said, watch that smile. And yes, I did.”

“And they believed you?”

“Yeah, they saw me and knew I was satisfied. And they kinda heard and saw us doing it.”

“Wait, what?” Leonard asked, shocked.

_'Oh crap. I wanted to ease into the topic.'_ she thought and looked at him. “Sit down, I need to tell you something.” she said and Leonard did so.

“Okay Penny, tell me.”

“Promise me you won't get mad.”

“I promise.”

“Remember when I told you that you made me lose an embarrassing bet by paying attention to me?”

“Yes, during our halo night. I remember.”

“Okay, the bet was, if I lose, which I did, I had to make an audio recording of our next sexual encounter.”

“What? Did you agree to that?”

“Um... yes, I did. I honor bets I make. Anyway, turns out that afterwards, Kim told Cheryl and she hid a recorder in my bedroom and the night it recorded was the one where I used the rubber band for the first time.”

“I remember.” Leonard said with a smile, his look a thousand miles away.

“Leonard! Focus.” Penny said, clicking her fingers in front of him. “Anyway, I got them their recording but I also recorded it myself with my phone. And when we did the rubber band again after my showcase...”

“Where you made me pound you from behind for an hour?” he interrupted her again, grinning.

“Yes. That it took an hour was your decision, you could have finished in half the time if you hadn't slowed down that often. But when I had a girls night with them, after I got so mad at you guys for the time machine thing, they got me drunk and I kind of gave them the second recording too.”

“So far that's not so bad. It's only audio, right?” he asked and saw her blush. “Right?”

“Uh... I... uh... I kinda wanted a real memento of a night together and decided to make a video recording of us. The first video was right after the time machine thing.”

“Oookay.” he said slowly. “Any more?”

“Yes.” she blushed. “Several actually. Our all-nighter and my special birthday present all included.”

“Hm. And they saw it?”

“Yes. That's why they “wanted to borrow you for a week or two”.” Penny air-quoted. “They even made a plan when I kept rejecting them.”

“What plan.”

“The plan that they had for your birthday party, I overheard them when I was at Cheryl's. They wanted to get us both drunk so I pass out and then seduce you. They even got blond wigs to wear.”

“Really?” Leonard asked and couldn't suppress a laugh. Even Penny smiled at his mirth.

“Yeah, and what did I tell you about that smile?”

“That you love it and want to kiss me every time you see it?”

“That... you... argh.” Penny cursed and kissed him. “Damn, do you have to be right all the time?”

“I don't have to be, it just happens a lot.”

“Shut up.”

“Hey, do you know what tomorrow is?”

“Friday?”

“Yeah. And also our three month anniversary.”

“Really? Wow. Really? Three month's already?”

“Already tired of me?”

“What? Hell no. I'm getting way to little of you. It just seems like last week when we were at that B&B.”

“Well, it's been three months, sweetheart.”

“Then what do you suggest, honey?”

“Lets go out. A real date. We go to dinner, a movie. And screw the guys if they learn about it.”

“Yes. I would love that.”

“Good. Tomorrow, I'm gonna pick you up at seven, we go to a romantic dinner, then to a movie, which you can choose and afterwards we decide on the fly what to do.”

“You're the greatest.” she said and kissed him. “So, you're not mad about me recording us during sex without telling you?”

“Well, it might have been better if you had told me. But now it gives me the chance of punishing you for a change.”

“Really?” she asked, getting aroused. “Anything special in mind?”

“Yeah, but I won't tell you. But it would be the dirtiest thing I have done ever and there's a big chance you say no.”

“I promise you, I won't say no. Unless it's something that goes against my principles.”

“Deal. See you tomorrow.” he said and got up. She followed him to the door and grabbed his arm to turn him around. Snaking her arms around his neck, she pressed her mouth to his and let her tongue play with his, feeling his manhood harden under his pants where their abdomens touched.

“Until tomorrow.” she said and extricated herself from him, playfully pushing him out of her apartment. After closing the door, she almost danced into her bedroom to change. Finally, a real date with Leonard. It had been a long time since they did that. She changed into some ragged clothes and stretched for her run.

* * *

 

She ran for almost an hour before returning to the apartment block. She saw Sheldon enter the building, headphones on.

“Hey Sheldon.” Penny said but Sheldon didn't hear her. For fun, she tapped his shoulders, watching him jump in panic.

“Aieee ya! Xia si wo le.” he shouted, taking the headphones off.

“I’m sorry Sheldon. Didn't want to scare you.”

“You didn't scare me, I was merely startled. But it's a good thing I ran into you. Can you free up some time for a one-to-one conversation?”

“What?”

“Have you got a minute to talk?” he clarified.

“Oh, sure. What do you want to know.”

“I wanted to ask you something regarding to Leonard.”

“Okay. But you know Leonard the best, don't you?”

“Not necessarily. I’m often surprised by my lack of familiarity with Leonard. Just the other day I discovered, he not only has a loofah, he hides it. Why do you suppose a man would be ashamed of having a loofah? I myself prefer to have my excess epithelial cells slough off naturally, but I don’t condemn those who seek to accelerate the process.” he rambled on while they walked up the stairs. “And until recently I had no idea that despite his lactose intolerance, he can tolerate small amounts of non-fat ice cream without producing a noxious gas that I maintain in the right concentration could be weaponized.”

“He can also eat non-dairy ice cream.”

“Really? How do you know that?”

“I went with him after the presentation you crashed.”

“I didn't crash it, I tried to rescue it.”

“Ok, doesn't matter.” she said as they reached the fourth floor. “Bye Sheldon.”

“Wait. I haven't finished my inquiry yet.”

“That's what I was afraid of.” she muttered. “Okay, what did you want to know?

“Leonard might come home, can we talk in your apartment.” he asked.

“Fine. Come with me.” she said and led him into her apartment.

“Am I incorrect in the assumption that Leonard asked you out.”

“He did, actually. How did you know? Did he tell you?”

“Well, he didn’t actually say anything, but when he came back to the apartment after his second visit to you, he was in a very happy mood.” he asked while walking back and forth through the apartment.

“Oh, that’s nice. I was just… do you want to sit down?”

“Oh, I wish it were that simple. You see, I don’t spend much time here and so I’ve never really chosen a place to sit.”

“Well, choose a place.”

“There are a number of options and, I’m really not familiar enough with the cushion densities, air flow patterns and dispersion of sunlight to make an informed choice.”

“Alright, why don’t you just pick one at random, and then if you don’t like it you can sit somewhere else next time.”

“No, no, that’s crazy. You go ahead and talk while I figure it out.”

“There isn't much to talk about. He asked me out and I said yes.”

“Does that mean that you attempt to progress in your relationship, which has so far been neighbor and friend, to something more?”

_'Oh sweetie, if only you know how far me and Leonard have already progressed. And for me it's not remotely far enough yet.'_ she thought with a smile that wasn't lost on Sheldon. “Yes, we attempt.”

“I'm concerned. After seeing the body of your former boyfriend at your Halloween party, I came to the conclusion that Leonard isn’t the kind of guy you usually go out with. Although Leonard isn’t the kind of guy anyone usually goes out with. Would you be open to rotating the couch clockwise thirty degrees?” he asked and Penny wondered how Sheldon was able to insult both his roommate and her by basically telling her that she was shallow and that Leonard was undesirable and in the next second wanting to change the placement of her furniture.

“No, I'm not open to you displacing my things. If you can't find a place to sit, then stand. And now tell me, what your objection is to me going on a date with Leonard.”

“I think we can both agree that Leonard isn't the type of man a woman like you usually pair bonds with. He's an accomplished although mediocre scientist while you are a waitress. Logic dictates that the woman he chooses as his mate must be at least his intellectual equal while you must end up with a male ape who is, as my mother put it, dumb as soup.” he stated as he continued to look for a place to sit.

“Again, you are not asking me anything, just insulting me.”

“I don't see how I am insulting you by stating obvious facts.” he said and sat down on her armchair. “Okay. I think this will be my seat.”

“Sheldon. Please tell me, what you want to know.”

“Since you moved in here and became a member of our social group, I have started to consider you a friend, even if a somewhat annoying one. I'm concerned that after your relationship attempt unsurprisingly fails, the inevitable fallout would maybe even condemn you to move away.”

“Did you just tell me in your own Sheldonian language that you would miss me? That's so sweet.” she said grinning.

“Oh, I wouldn't go that far. I would adapt of course. But it would once again be a disruptive event in my life that has seen too much change in recent months already.”

“Sheldon, do you have anything to say that has anything to do with me going on a date with Leonard. Because so far you only told me how it would affect you.”

“Well, let’s see. We might consider Schrodinger’s Cat.”

“Schrodinger? Is that the woman in 2A?”

“No. That’s Mrs Grossinger. And she doesn’t have a cat, she has a Mexican hairless, annoying little animal, yip yip yip yip…”

“Sheldon!”

“Sorry, you diverted me. Anyway, in 1935, Erwin Schrodinger, in an attempt to explain the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics, he proposed an experiment where a cat is placed in a box with a sealed vial of poison that will break open at a random time. Now, since no-one knows when or if the poison has been released, until the box is opened, the cat can be thought of as both alive and dead.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t get the point.”

“Well of course you don’t get it, I haven’t made it yet. You’d have to be psychic to get it, and there’s no such thing as psychic.”

“Sheldon, what’s the point?”

“Just like Schrodinger’s Cat, your potential relationship with Leonard right now can be thought of as both good and bad. It is only by opening the box that you’ll find out which it is.”

“Is the cat alive or dead?”

“As I said, it's not clear until you open the box.”

“But if the cat is my potential relationship with Leonard and the box is the date, don't I have to go on the date to find out if it works out?”

“Yes. But the question is, do you want to find out? Because what if the cat is dead after you open the box?”

_'Oh Sheldon, it's sweet that you care so much, in your own way, but you have no idea how alive the cat is. It's alive, it's happy and the male cat comes to visit often.'_ she thought. “Sheldon, whatever happens, I won't move away.”

“Alright then. Have fun on your date.” he said as he stood up and left her apartment.

* * *

Twenty-eight hours later, the clock showed 6:55 p.m. Penny had chosen a one-piece dress whose cut hugged her breasts reached the middle of her thighs. She had thought about foregoing any underwear but ultimately decided to wear at least some panties. She didn't know if they would be outside after the movie and she didn't want to risk a chill.

Sheldon's comment about her and Leonard's compatibility made her think though. She never told Leonard that she dropped out of community college because the courses had been too hard for her. She was worried that he might be disappointed in her. Before her thoughts could go any further, there was a knock on her door.

“Hi.” she greeted Leonard.

“Hi.” he replied and she clearly saw his nervousness.

“Leonard, are you nervous?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Sweetie, remember what I did on your birthday? Or the time before that were I didn't let you sleep?”

“Sorry, can't help it. The last time I asked you on a date, I ended up in the emergency room, remember?”

“Calm down, just remember, if you drop food this time, leave it on the floor.”

“Got it.” he said and she could see him calm down. “You look very nice.” he commented.

“Thank you. You too.”

“Have you any idea what seeing you in a dress like this is doing to me? Right now, I want to press you against the wall and just take you from behind.”

“Sweetie, please shut up or I will let you. But I want a dinner first. As soon as we're back, do what you want with me.”

“I might take you up on that. Oh, I made an eight o’clock reservation at the Szechuan Palace so we have some time to walk around and talk, if you want.

“Okay, great. Lets go.” she said and they left the apartment. They got into Leonard's car and drove to their destination.

* * *

“Hey, did you know that Sheldon came by? He told me that if our date went badly, it would disrupt his life because I might move away.” she said as they walked along the sidewalk.

“Yeah, he told me something similar before making a pretty brilliant allegory.” he said and looked at her.

“Schrodinger’s Cat?” both said in unison and laughed.

“Yes, that's Sheldon. Although I had to admit, that was brilliant.” he said and stopped them. He grabbed her behind the waist and kissed her, deepening it as her arms went around his neck. They separated way too early for her liking.

“The cat is so much alive, it's having kittens right now.” she grinned. “Lets go to dinner.”

She grabbed his hand again and they walked towards the Szechuan Palace. Leonard had been here a few times with the guys but never with her and he wanted to make a good impression. As they walked in, they saw Sheldon arguing with the head waiter in Mandarin. Not wanting to be seen by him and roped into whatever he was doing there, Leonard turned around and pushed Penny out of the restaurant, not that she needed much persuasion to do so.

“Okay, that concludes the dinner part of the evening. I hope you enjoyed your meal.” Leonard said sarcastically.

“Well, at least this time it's not your fault. Who would have thought that doctor whackadoodle would be here.”

“I should have connected the dots. He was learning mandarin and he complained that the tangerine chicken from this place wasn't tangerine chicken at all. But that he would come here tonight of all nights, that just sucks.”

“What do we do now? I'm hungry and the movie is still two hours away.”

“Hm, does your vegetarianism allow seafood?” he asked.

“Yes, I just don't eat red meat, apart from the occasional steak. And your own kind of sausage.” she added seductively, making him groan.

“Well, there's a red lobster not far from here.”

“Lets go.” Penny said and grabbed his hand.

They got into his car and took the five minutes drive to red lobster. Lucky for them, the restaurant had some free tables, giving them the opportunity to sit down without having to wait. They ordered meals for themselves and soon were enjoying a leisurely dinner, away from everything that could disturb them.

“That was a great idea Leonard.”

“It IS our anniversary.”

“True. But as I told you before, it hadn't even occurred to me. The time has gone by so fast, it really feels like last week that we became steady.” she said and took a sip of her wine.

“I know. I still can't believe you're going out with me. Or that you are still going out with me, considering how often we got interrupted or something like the time machine happened.”

“Or certain friends of mine who want you in their bed. Or birthday parties without the birthday boy.”

“Hey, you made up for that.”

“As you made up for the other stuff. It seems our relationship consists of failed plans and passionate make-ups.” he said and that made her think. Did their relationship really was all about things they wanted to do only for it to fail and then having sex? What if something happened that couldn't be solved just with sex?

“Leonard? Where do you see us going?” she asked and saw that he got very still.

“Truthfully? I'm afraid to think that far because I have a tendency to overthink things which ultimately makes it even worse. Why do you ask?”

“Because I'm faced with bouts insecurity, especially after what Sheldon told me today. He said that people like us don't mix and you would want someone that's more in your region of intelligence. I mean, you're a genius and scientist and I'm just a waitress who wants to be an actress and only went to community college.”

“Seriously, why should the choice of college determine a choice of partner? If you only want a relationship that looks good on paper, you will rarely have a happy life. Usually you want someone that complements you, someone that makes you better.”

'Tell me that you love me. Then I will say it back. But I'm too afraid to say it first.' she thought. “I guess.” she said instead.

“Listen Penny, I meant it when I said that haven't thought that far. But I know one thing. Right now, I couldn't imagine being with someone else. And I could even bear less if I saw you with someone else.”

“Really? I feel the same. I said it once when you were asleep, I'm almost afraid when I think about how much of an integral part of my life you have become.”

“Lets make a deal. We keep our relationship going and if it, hopefully, lasts to reach the one-year anniversary, we will have this talk again.”

“Okay, deal.” she smiled at him and looked at her watch. “Hey, we need to go or we miss the movie.”

“Oh sure.” Leonard replied and called the waiter to them to pay.

They got back into his car and drove the short way to the theater. Penny had chosen a romantic movie which Leonard grudgingly had to accept since he said before that she could choose. He paid for a double seat with no armrest between them plus a bucket of popcorn and beverages and they took their seats just as the previews began and the lights were only dimmed.

Penny saw the looks she got from the other guys, mainly because of her dress. Some of the guys, mainly those who she could put more into the range of nerdy, gave Leonard an appreciative look for getting a woman like her to go with him.

She saw a a group of guys sitting together and looking at them, talking to each other while they did. During a lull in the previews she overheard, barely, one of them saying something like wanting to hit on her after the movie and “getting her away from that nerd”. Her rage rose inside her and after making sure those guys were looking again, she turned Leonard's head and gave him a deep kiss, smiling broadly at him after they separated before making good use of the missing divider between them to snuggle into his chest.

With some satisfaction, she saw the face of the guy who made that comment scrunch up in disappointment and maybe even disgust but she didn't care. If it weren't illegal and would have let to them being arrested, she would have climbed into Leonard's chest and have sex with him here and now to prove her commitment to him.

She never changed her position during the entire movie.

* * *

“Penny?” Leonard shook her awake.

“What?”

“The movie's over.”

“Oh. I kinda dozed away during the end I guess.”

“Come on, lets go home.”

After stopping at a 24/7 convenient store on the way home, they took the drive to their block. Leonard parked the car and as they were walking towards the entrance, Penny grabbed a plastic cup out of her purse, ripped the lid off and started eating with a plastic spoon. Leonard only looked at her questioningly and they walked up the stairs in silence. After reaching the third floor, she saw him looking at her while she continued eating.

“Oh sorry, do you want some of my yogurt?” she asked.

“Actually, what you’re eating is not technically yogurt, because it doesn’t have enough live acidophilus cultures. It’s really just iced milk with carrageenan added for thickness.”

“Oh, that’s very interesting.” she said, not having understood anything.

“It’s also not pink and has no berries.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t really answer my question.”

“What was your question again?” he asked a bit flustered.

“Do you want some?” she grinned.

“Oh, right, no, I’m lactose intolerant.”

“Right. I forgot.” she said as they reached their floor.

She looked at him expectantly, wondering if he had anything else planned for the night, considering the fact that it was after midnight. He was about to bring his head close to hers and Penny's eyes half-closed in expectation of the kiss when she saw his head snapping up.

“What is it?” she asked and he simply pointed up. She followed his finger and saw what appeared to be a small webcam installed above the elevator doors, slowly panning left and right.

“It seems that the guys are way too curious about how our date went.” he stated.

“Is that a camera?”

“Yep, a wireless webcam.”

“Does it convey only picture or sound as well?”

“Knowing Howard, both. He wouldn't be satisfied with only looking.”

“Then lets give them a show.” Penny said and grabbed a surprised Leonard, smashing her body to his and connecting their lips in a searing kiss. She started moaning into it and lifted one of her legs, throwing it around his waist while her arms closed behind his neck.

Just as his arm touched her leg, his hand running up her tight under her short dress, she broke the kiss and took a step back, smiling at him to allay his concerns at the sudden separation. She threw an angry look at the camera and flipped it the bird before grabbing Leonard's hand and pulling him into her apartment.

“Okay, I think we have now established that our date went well and we're dating. Even your friends should have accepted it by now.” she said after closing the door.

“Don't be so sure. It's equally possible that they take your reaction towards the camera as an indicator to say 'Hey, she just pulled him into her apartment to mess with us, he will have to sleep on the couch.'” he replied.

“I don't care what they think. But you won't sleep on the couch.” she stated.

“I never intended to sleep on your couch. I still have a punishment to dole out?”

“Punishment?”

“Remember, when we made the date? I told you, you not telling me about the recordings gives me a chance to punish you for a change.”

“Oooh, right. So, decided on something yet?” she asked while slowly backing into her bedroom, a seductive smile on her face.

“Yep, I did.”

After both had reached the bedroom, Penny sat down on the bed while Leonard opened his pants, letting them fall to the ground and discarded his jacket. He stood in front of her and threw her an aroused look, one side of his mouth up in a crooked smile.

“Get on your knees on the floor.” he ordered and she complied grinning. She knew he would never make her do something she wasn't ready to do or didn't like but his commanding tone made her immensely hot for him. As she leaned back on her legs, he took off his shirt and shorts, standing naked in front her her. She unconsciously licked her lips at the sight of his already hardening manhood, feeling heat pooling in her abdomen in anticipation of what would come. Lots and lots of orgasms, she hoped.

He took another stop towards her, trapping her between himself and the bed. He lifted his manhood with his left and and put his right behind her head. Penny knew what was coming, having done that numerous times yet never in that position. Her mouth almost automatically opened and soon enough, her mouth was filled with the one kind of sausage she liked.

But as soon as her lips had closed around him, she realized what would be different this time. Usually, he was on his back and she on her stomach, her head going up and down, dictating the speed and how deep she took him in.

Now with both hands behind her head, he started thrusting, slowly at first but getting faster, not letting her be in control. It was a totally new experience for her, being completely subservient to his whims. He thrust in a moderate pace, always to the hilt and sometimes holding her there for a few seconds but slowed down as if he knew when she felt the gag reflex getting stronger.

That was another one of those great things about Leonard. Years before she had overheard her friends talking about what they were doing right now and the way those girls had described it made Penny vow never to allow it to be done with her. Their guys had done it fast but Leonard still took great care to give her a good time.

She kept her eyes closed and enjoyed the fact that she gave him pleasure. Whenever he pushed in and held it there, she swallowed, knowing how great he felt when she did. She didn't know how long they had been doing it but was still surprised when he suddenly pulled out.

“Why did you stop?” she asked, looking up at him.

“It has been ten minutes. I still have more plans for you.” was his reply which surprised her. It hadn't felt like ten minutes. And for some reason, she had had fun doing that and wouldn't object if he decided to do it again. God knows she made him kneel enough times to pleasure her with his mouth.

He pushed her against the well next to her bathroom door and knelt down again to pull her panties down. Now dressed in only her dress, she was pressed harder into the wall by his naked body, his noticeable erection rubbing against her thighs. He licked his fingers and put his arm around her body, his hand disappearing under her skirt.

He started to rub his hand over her folds, increasing her already strong arousal even more. She could almost see him smile as he felt her readiness and moaned when his index finger flicked over her nub. He grabbed between them and for a fraction of a second felt the tip against her center before he pushed in to the hilt and her brain exploded with pleasure.

“Oh my god!” she shouted as the angle of penetration made it possible for him to stimulate her g-spot once again. How he always found the correct position to do that was still a mystery to her, even after she had read the web page he had found.

“Mh, that feels so good Penny. You're so tight.” he moaned as he started pushing in and out, his shaft moving along her sensitive walls.

He sped up quickly, the sound of their bodies slamming together filling the room again and Penny only felt bliss. She felt his hands grabbing her hips, holding her in place while she pushed back every time he came forward to increase her already high pleasure even more.

Her first orgasm wasn't long in coming, his ministrations too much for her to handle without. As her body shook in pleasure, his hand went between her legs again, rubbing her in sync with his movements and therefore increasing her experience even more. He didn't let her come down, instead getting even faster and rubbing harder as she shouted out her pleasure.

His efforts were rewarded quickly as her second orgasm washed through her less than five minutes after the first. She once more shouted out and her head flew forwards but thanks to her position banged into the wall with a loud smack.

“Ouch.” she panted hard and didn't know if she even could feel pain with all those endorphins coursing through her.

“Oh god, are you okay?” he asked concerned and pulled out of her.

“Yes, I am. Put it back in please.” she whined but he didn't do it.

“Come on.” he said and led her to the bed, making her go down on her knees in front of it and pushing her upper body down. She knew what was coming but still squealed as he pushed in. 

“Oh god Leonard, please don't stop. Don't ever stop.” she pleaded as he pounded her hard.

This was her second most favorite position do get it from behind, the first being the same angle but lying flat on her stomach. His manhood slammed into her in rapid succession, creating a crescendo of pleasure inside her brain. For what seemed to a very long time she used the name of a certain deity in vain but after she had come for a third, fourth and fifth time, her vocabulary changed to very often repeated expletives.

Her arms flailed around, not knowing whether to grab the comforter or trying to reach his body to push him harder into her. Her squeals got ever louder during orgasms six through ten, her throat already hurting with the effort it took.

When she came the eleventh time, it was hard enough that it made her almost jump, her knees lifting of the ground before falling back down. It sent a jolt of pain through her and when Leonard suddenly pulled out, she didn't know if she had voiced that pain or not. But before she could ask, he pushed back in, nailing her faster than ever before.

She heard his breathing getting strained and when she came the twelfth time, a bear-like groan told her that he had come with her. She kept twitching as he unloaded into her and collapsed on her back, his breathing hard but apparently not bad enough to warrant a use of his inhaler.

She wanted to tell him how great that was but couldn't voice anything but little squeals. Every breath sent more jolts of pleasure through her since he was still inside her to the hilt while he rested on her back.

They stayed in that position for what felt like hours but was only two minutes. Penny didn't care. His form of punishment was the same as hers, he got her to come a dozen times again and if she smiled any wider, her lips would split apart.

“That was amazing.” he managed to say after her body had calmed down enough for her to form words.

“Thank you. I take it you like my kind of punishment the same way I like yours?”

“Oh yes! I'm gonna be such a bad girl in the future.”

“Really? Then I might have to get some handcuffs.” he grinned and enjoyed her surprised reaction.

“But I will use them on you more often than the other way around.” she stated.

“If you ride me, I look forward to you cuffing me to the bed.”

“Oh, you will be surprised at what I can do when you're immobile.”

“I look forward to it.” he said and finally pulled out of her, standing up.. Despite the fact that she just had a dozen orgasms, she immediately missed the contact. She sat back on her knees and looked at him, seeing him put the rubber band back into her drawer.

“That's how you managed the duration.”

“Yeah, and the position was important too.” he said and took his phone from her cabinet, shutting off the recorder.

“You taped us?”

“Yes.”

“You dirty boy.”

“I learned from the best.” he said and kissed her.

She pulled him into the bathroom and they proceeded to wash each other, enjoying the contact under the spray of water. They returned into the bedroom and got into her bed, foregoing any clothing. She molded herself to his body, her head again on his chest and felt the drain of their carnal activity catching up with her.

Her last thought before she fell asleep was centered on her insecurity about her intelligence compared to Leonard. His explanation of the yogurt thing as they came up the stairs was another proof of this, she hadn't understood anything. She didn't want to break up with him over this. Maybe she could talk to someone about this.

As soon as she was asleep, she dreamed that she was lying on Leonard's chest and he told her that he loved her. It made her smile as her dream self said it back.

* * *

When Penny woke up, she was alone. She looked at her bathroom door and saw no lights so Leonard wasn't in there. She put a hand on the side of his bed and felt residual warmth, indicating that he must have gotten up not so long ago. She dragged herself out of bed, almost collapsing as her legs were still like jello after the sexual pounding she got last night.

“Leonard?” she shout-whispered into the living room as she entered it.

“Yeah?” came the answer from the couch and her sleep riddled mind finally saw him sitting there, her phone in hand.

“What are you doing? And what are you doing up?”

“You took all the covers and I was a little chilly. And since it's morning anyway I thought I could make some breakfast. And currently I'm watching some of the videos you made. Quite nice. Although it's kinda strange watching yourself. It's like having an out of body experience.”

“So you're not mad that I didn't tell you?”

“Nah. I'm thinking about getting a real HD camcorder. That would make some fine videos.”

“Leonard? Are you turning to the dark side?”

“You're so hot when you reference Star Wars.”

“I know.” she grinned.

They spent the next thirty minutes enjoying a quiet breakfast on her couch, their bodies in constant contact. Yet for all the assurances Leonard gave her yesterday, Penny still felt her intellectual insecurity around him. Sheldon's words yesterday only increased her worries.

“So, what's on the agenda today?” Leonard asked, interrupting her thoughts.

“Laundry. I'm running out of clean clothes.”

“Really? Your closet seems to be full of them.”

“That are dresses and other going out clothes. My everyday clothes are running out.”

“Okay. I guess I can catch up on some work.” he said and got up. He gave her a kiss and left the apartment. Smiling a somewhat doubtful smile to herself, Penny grabbed her laundry basket and headed out to go downstairs.

* * *

Penny entered the laundry room to find Sheldon folding his shirts. Although the talk they had had yesterday was more of a number of insults than advice, she thought it couldn't hurt to ask his opinion about the insecurities she was facing.

“Hi.” she greeted him.

“Oh, hi Penny. FYI, the hot water is inadequate on machine 2 so colors only, and 4 is still releasing the fabric softener too early in the cycle so I’d avoid using that for your delicates.”

“Thanks.” she said and dumped all her laundry into a single machine.

“Oh, good Lord. Why don’t you just take your clothes down to the river and beat them with a rock?” he commented in his usual condescending manner.

“Sheldon, can I ask you something?”

“I would prefer that you not, but I won’t go so far as to forbid it.” he replied, making her eyes roll.

“Alright, I heard yes, so… has Leonard ever dated, you know, a regular girl? One that wasn't a brainiac.”

“A few years ago he did go out with a woman who had a PhD in French Literature.”

“How is that not a braniac?”

“It was French literature. Calling her a brainiac is like saying an actress is a productive member of society.” he said and she felt her ire rise at his not-so-veiled insult to her chosen profession.

“So, do you think he’d eventually get bored with me.”

“That depends. Do you have a working knowledge of quantum physics?”

“No.”

“Do you speak Klingon?”

“No.”

“Do you know any card tricks?”

“Okay, I get it. In your mind, Leonard has no business being involved with a waitress slash actress who felt so insecure that she lied to him about finishing community college.”

“Why would you lie about that?” he asked.

“Well, he was going on and on about this college and that grad school and I didn’t want him to think I was some stupid loser.”

“You thought the opposite of stupid loser was community college graduate?”

“You know, there are a lot of successful people in this country who are community college graduates.”

“Yeah, but you were neither.”

“Okay look, this is between you and me, you cannot tell Leonard any of this.”

“You’re asking me to keep a secret?” he asked and she nodded. “Well I’m sorry, but you would have had to express that desire before revealing the secret, so that I could choose whether or not I wanted to accept the covenant of secret keeping. You can’t impose a secret on an ex post facto basis.”

“What?” she asked, not having understood what he meant.

“Secret keeping is a complicated endeavor. One has to be concerned not only about what one says, but about facial expression, autonomic reflexes, when I try to deceive, I myself have more nervous tics than a Lyme disease research facility.” he said, and she could only stare blankly at him. “It’s a joke. It relies on the homonymic relationship between tick the blood-sucking arachnid, and tic the involuntary muscular contraction. I made it up myself.” he explained and gave a laugh that was more unnerving than funny.

“Okay, if Leonard finds out that I lied, I will absolutely die of embarrassment.”

“Physiologically impossible.”

“Sheldon, please, I’m asking you as a friend. You told me that you consider me as one.”

“So you’re saying that friendship contains within it an inherent obligation to maintain confidences?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Interesting. I should have said that I consider you a tolerated acquaintance.”

“Really? Get out.” she ordered and Sheldon wisely left. Hopefully he won't spill the beans to Leonard before she had the chance to tell him herself.

* * *

Later that day, Penny once again donned her Cheesecake Factory uniform to go to the job she hated doing, especially when she didn't have sex an hour before to lift her mood to such a degree that it led to better tips. But you couldn't have everything. Grabbing her keys, she left her apartment and went down the stairs, running into her neighbors on the third floor.

“Hi guys.” she greeted them, flashing Leonard a smile while Sheldon looked away from her.

“Hey.” her boyfriend greeted back.

“Hi Penny.” Sheldon said while looking at the floor.

“Hey, Penny, if you’re not doing anything Friday night I thought maybe we could go and see a movie.”

“I' sorry, but I have the dinner shift on Friday.”

“What about Saturday?”

“You know, I’m not sure, my friend Marie called and wanted a night out with a bunch of other girls. It's nothing definite yet but I haven't seen them in a while...”

“Oh okay, if you know something more, just tell me. See you later.” he replied and they parted ways so she could go to work.

Two hours later, Penny stood at the third table today that she's waited. The first had been a bunch of male teens who she got good tips put of by flirting with all of them while the second had been an elderly couple whose tips wouldn't buy her a newspaper. Now she looked down at a family and hoped that they were a bit more generous.

“Also today we have a fresh caught Alaska salmon, and that’s served with a teriyaki glaze and sticky rice. Our soup of the day…” she told them but was interrupted by the voice of her neighbor suddenly appearing in her ear.

“You must release me from my oath.” he implored her and scared the crap out of her.

“Sheldon, I’m working.” she said and tried to maintain a smile.

“Why don’t you take a minute to decide.” he told the family and grabbed her hand to lead her away. “I can’t keep your secret Penny. I’m going to fold like an energy based anobo protein in conformational space. Like a renaissance triptych. Like a cheap suit.”

“Why is it so hard for you to keep one little secret?”

“I’m constitutionally incapable. That’s why I was refused clearance for a very prestigious government research fellowship at a secret military Super Collider, located beneath a fake agricultural station 12.5 miles south east of Travers City, Michigan. Which you did not hear about from me.”

“Look, just forget I told you about me not graduating from community college. Okay?”

“Forget! You want me to forget? This mind does not forget. I haven’t forgotten a single thing since the day my mother stopped breast feeding me. It was a drizzly Tuesday.”

“You promised me you would keep my secret so you’re just going to have to figure out a way to do it.”

She watched him walk away, moping, and shook her head, as she was walking back to the family she had been waiting on to take their orders. Dealing with Sheldon really was a chore, worse than caring for a child. _'I hope mine and Leonard's first child won't be like him.'_ she thought and broke the tip of her pencil when she realized what she had just thought of.

* * *

After finally finishing her shift, whose tips had averaged out at mediocre, she drove home and took a much needed shower. The last table had been especially terrible, the men who she had served had constantly made insinuations about getting her into bed and not necessarily each of them alone but all of them at once.

It had been hard to maintain her cool but she had managed it, barely. Now she stood under the spray of water, trying to wash off the feeling of being dirty. After getting out, she put on some clothes and lay down on the couch, stretching her feet and resting her eyes a bit.

After two hours, her eyes opened again when her phone indicated an incoming message. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and took it, unlocking the screen and breaking out in a smile when she saw Leonard's name as the sender.

**Sheldon just moved out.**

Instead of answering, she got up and went over to the guys' apartment. She went in without knocking, as she did almost every time.

“What do you mean, he moved out?” she asked Leonard, who was lounging on the couch, soda in hand.

“Hey Penny, come in. I meant exactly what I said. After we met you on the stairs, I asked him what was going on with him, his face started to tic and he left a few minutes later. And about half an hour ago, he came back, told me he would move out and left with Raj to live with him.”

“And he didn't tell you why?”

“No, he only said he couldn't tell me. I guess that's his way of keeping a secret because Sheldon simply can't do that without giving the fact that he knows something away.”

“Oh no, and it's all my fault.”

“How is this your fault?”

“Because it's my secret he's keeping.”

“Oh. Okay.” he said, a bit dejected.

“Aren't you gonna ask what it is? Aren't you curious?”

“Yes, I am. But even though I want to know, if you want to keep something secret, that's your prerogative and I don't have the right to pry.”

_'Oh sweetie, I wish you would pry right now.'_ she thought while she collected her thoughts. “No, I think you need to know.”

“Okay.” he said a bit apprehensive.

“Remember when I told you that I only went to community college?”

“Yes, go on.”

“Well... um... wow, that's really embarrassing... it's like this. I didn't quite finish college.”

“Um, okay. So you dropped out?”

“Yeah.” Penny said and turned her head in shame.

“And?” he asked.

“What?”

“And what is it you're so embarrassed about?”

“Leonard! I dropped out of community college. You're a genius scientist with a frickin' doctorate. And after talking to Sheldon, I'm afraid that down the line you will get bored with me.” she said and couldn't stop a tear from escaping her eyes.

“Penny, look at me.” he implored and she did. “Why would you think I would get bored with you?”

“Come on, you're like super smart and compared to you I'm a dumb waitress with dreams of becoming an actress.” she whined.

“Penny.” he sighed. “Every day I wake up and hope that I can take you into my arms and it has been like that since the day I saw you standing in your apartment, unpacking boxes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I don't think I can ever get bored of you. Because I think if I did, you would bring a world of hurt down on me for neglecting you. And that would be before you break up with me.”

“You might be right on that one.” she said and was able to smile again. “So, it’s fine with you if I’m not smart.”

“Yes.” he said and she could see him recognizing something. “Wait, that came out wrong. Boy, how can I say this without being insulting.”

“Oh, I'm intrigued. How was it supposed to come out?”

“Okay. I think we can both agree that you're not as smart as me, not even by a long shot, right?” he asked and she nodded. “But, you're smart. You're not dumb just because you don't understand everything I do.”

“Or anything.”

“Remember the physics bowl? When you made that impromptu quiz for me and Sheldon asking about actors and stuff?”

“Yeah. That was funny.”

“Not for me. Me and Sheldon didn't know anything. You're smart in your own way. You might not be smart when it comes to the world of science but you know stuff about other things that leave me speechless.”

“So, you won't be disappointed if I decide not to go to college after all?”

“No, why would I. Wait, you thought about going back to college?”

“Yeah. Cheryl said something and I I checked out some courses. I thought, having a degree would mean more to you.”

“I think this is the first time we ever had a talk regarding your education. It never really occurred to me before.”

“Really? This is a good sign but can also be interpreted that you don't care.”

“I care. If you want to go back to college I will support you in whatever way I can. But if you don't go, I won't hold it against you. If you want, I can give it to you in writing. I will never get bored with you as long as you will have me. And now, come here.” he said and opened his arms.

She turned around and leaned back into his chest, sighing in content as his arms circled around her waist and held her tight. All her fears had proven unnecessary and although she still felt residual insecurity, he had taken a lot of it away with a few heartfelt words.

_'As long as I want you, you will want me. Would that be true in a year or two? Or ten? Twenty?'_ she thought. Any more thoughts were whisked away as he started feather-light kisses on her neck and ears.

“Lets have sex in Sheldon's spot.” she said and turned around on him, climbing into his lap and kissing him on the mouth. As she ground her hips on him, several rapid knocks interrupted them. “Oh, son of a bitch.” she cursed.

“What do you think I feel? I'm sitting here with an erection in my pants.”

“I know. Now open the door.” she ordered as more knocks sounded. Leonard opened the door and Sheldon almost fell into the apartment, followed by Howard.

“Hey, there he is, there’s my old buddy-bud-bud.” Sheldon babbled.

“What’s with him?” Leonard asked Howard.

“Raj dumped him on me and he couldn’t get to sleep, so I gave him a glass of warm milk with a handful of my mom’s Valium in it. But he still wouldn’t shut up, so tag, you’re it.” Howard replied and quickly ran off.

“I'm ba-ack.” Sheldon breathed out and stumbled farther into the apartment.

“Yeah, we can see that.” Leonard said.

“Hey Sheldon.” Penny greeted him.

“Penny. I kept your secret. Shhhh.”

“It's okay Sheldon, I told him.”

“I drank funny tasting milk. I'm tired.”

“Lets get you into bed, buddy.” Leonard said and helped Sheldon to his bed.

Penny waited until he came back out and when Leonard sat down on his armchair, she walked over to him and sat down sideways on his lap, her right arm around his neck.

“So, I guess that means no sex in Sheldon's spot tonight.” she said and kissed him.

“No, unfortunately not. And I better stay here tonight, god knows how he will be in the morning after being drugged.”

“Too bad. But I guess I see you tomorrow then.”

“Oh, you will, believe me.” Leonard said and pulled her in for a deep kiss. After a minute of just silent lip contact, she broke it and got up.

“Bye Leonard.” she said and left the apartment.

After brushing her teeth and getting to bed, she thought about what happened during the last two days. She probably lost two of her friends, unless she decided to forgive them, but gained a commitment from Leonard that allayed most of her fears of inferiority. He was right. Lets take this relationship forward slow and see how they stand in a year.

She closed her eyes in satisfaction, despite the fact that their carnal activity had been interrupted before it had began, and fell into a calm sleep.

 

* * *

**And here's the stopping point. Some of you will probably think, “finally” :D**

**But, you wanted season two and you got it ;)**

**Review please :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Time for another chapter ;) Sorry this took a while longer but I have some computer problems right now and on top of that caught a mild stomach flu this weekend.**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.**

 

* * *

 

“I like the way you wake me up sometimes, even if it's on a Friday at five in the morning.” Penny said, her head on Leonard's chest, listening to his soothing heartbeat.

“I only do it like that to prevent you from hitting me.” he grinned back.

“Really? You think I couldn't reach you when your head is buried between my legs? If it weren't an orgasm waking me, you would probably have a black eye right now.” she smiled and placed a kiss on his chest.

“Easier to wake you my way. If you hadn't been naked already I probably would have gotten back to bed the normal way.”

“What exactly did you do? Or what did I do to cause your... uh... action?”

“Well, I woke up, needed to pee, went to your bathroom and after coming out I saw that you had discarded the comforter. And one of your legs was bend. I couldn't resist the invitation.”

“Of course, you couldn't. Why do you think I shave it regularly.” she grinned and stretched her body before kissing him. “But now, I need to use the bathroom quickly, because gravity is doing its job on your spill.”

Penny walked into her bathroom and cleaned herself up. She checked herself in the mirror and saw the marks on her hips where his hands had gripped her as she bounced hard on his manhood. Her face was lit up in that sated bliss once again, proving that him waking her up early in the morning after spending the night in her bed was better than getting up late and alone.

Despite the fact that she had just cleaned the residue of carnal activity off her, she felt heat pooling in her abdomen when she thought back to the events of last night. Leonard had entered her apartment without knocking, using the spare key she had given him. She was about to get ready to bed and in her underwear when he just kissed her and pushed her into her bedroom before pushing her down on the bed onto her stomach and taking her long and hard in her most favorite position.

She was always amazed by this almost animalistic side of Leonard, him taking charge in his arousal and as if hypnotized she never thought of saying no. And last night, during the last three minutes he had managed to do something that had never happened before. During her g-spot induced squeals of pleasure, he had made her beg. She had actually begged him to go faster and faster, which he then did and that had caused her to bite into her cushion during the last orgasm while simultaneously lifting her head. Long story short, she needed a new pillowcase.

“Bye the way, did Sheldon say something when you came over?” she called out to him.

“He was already in his room when I decided to come over.” he called back.

“What did the guys say after our date, you never told me and they never said something when we ate together.” she said after exiting her bathroom and standing in the doorway, the light behind her outlining her curves but making features unrecognizable.

“Actually, remember what I told you after you kissed me in the hallway and pulled me into your apartment after our date?”

“Refresh my memory?”

“I said that they could think that you put on a show for the camera and made me sleep on the couch to mess with them. And it happened exactly like that. They pulled my leg during lunch on Monday at Cat Tech and their conviction was even strengthened when Sheldon mentioned that the reason for me walking funny when I returned to the apartment the next morning was me sleeping on your hard and uncomfortable couch.”

“Seriously, what do we have to do to make them believe?”

“Have sex in front of them?”

“Very funny. I have no wish of any kind to get even semi-naked in front of Howard. But hey, lets just continue as before. Lets see when they finally figure it out.” she said and stepped fully into the bedroom into the light cast by her bedside lamp.

“Wow.” she heard him say quietly.

“What?” she asked.

“Oh, nothing. I'm just amazed every time, how beautiful you are.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, you're gorgeous. Beautiful face, amazing firm breasts, perfect ass and such inviting folds, it's unbelievable.”

“So, you find my folds inviting, huh?” she grinned and swung her legs over him, sitting down on his chest, her knees to the left and right of his head. “Why?”

“Do you really have to ask?” he grinned and ran his hands over her legs.

“No, but I want to know.” she smiled back.

“Well, you're hot and oh so tight. And because you shave, it's like you are saying 'You can put your mouth here'.” he air-quoted.

“Really? Well, you do continually show me what your tongue is capable of.” she said and saw his face break out in a smug grin before he placed a soft kiss on her thigh. “But I think, I need some more proof.”

She took his hands into hers and intertwined their fingers. Using his hands as support, she lifted herself a bit and scooted forward, placing her center on his mouth. He didn't wait a second and as soon as she was down, his tongue was busy doing its magic, swirling around her nub and labia and occasionally pushing into her.

Her head fall back with a satisfied moan, the feeling coursing through her too much to handle without making a sound. This was another thing about Leonard that constantly amazed her. He knew exactly how to lick her to give her the maximum amount of pleasure. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn that he had had dozens of girlfriends before with whom he had practiced that.

Their hands still connected, she slowly moved her hips forward and backward, moaning without pause as he did his magic. It didn't take her long to fall over the edge, her orgasm making her buck forward as it made her insides clench. She felt him grin as he continued to lick her hard. But instead of telling him to stop being smug, she let go of his hands and pushed his head harder into her.

During her second orgasm, her upper body fell backwards while her hips continued bucking up and down in pleasure. Inwardly she cursed his need to wait a while before being ready again because right now she wanted nothing more than mount him again and ride him as hard as she did before.

“God, how are you doing this?” she sighed as he laid his head back on his cushion, his hands continuing to rub over her legs.

“Easy. I run my tongue over every inch.”

“I know that. But still, I can't believe how often you manage to make me come like that.”

“I bet I could make you come more than a dozen times just with my tongue.”

“No.” she said decisively.

“You don't think I can do it?”

“Oh, you definitely can do it. That's why I won't take a bet like this, because I would lose it anyway.”

“Of course you would.” he smiled.

“Ha ha.” she said sarcastically and turned around, bringing her lips to his. “Stop being smug.”

“If you don't like my smug grin, kiss it off me.”

“Okay.” she smiled and did just that, invading his mouth with her tongue and playing with his. His right hand went to the back of her head, holding her tight to him, while his left ran up and down her back. “I really want to ride you again.” she whined.

“Might be better that you can't, last time you almost broke my hips.”

“Stop exaggerating, you love it when I bounce on you.”

“Yes I do. So, what's on the agenda for the weekend?” she asked.

“Oh, today not much, work and then home. Tomorrow is the renaissance fair, so we have to get up pretty early to get ready.”

“Oh right, I saw your knight armor. I hope you have fun.”

“I know exactly what will happen. We will go there and Sheldon will start complaining about all the inaccuracies. You sure you don't want to go with us? You would look great in a medieval dress.”

“Nah, I have the late shift today. And tomorrow is my girls night, remember? So I need to sleep in.”

“Want me to drive you?”

“No, Eric is picking me up.”

“Uh... okay. Who's Eric?”

“He's my other man. I use him every night when you're not available.” she said and managed to keep a straight face at his horrified expression. “I'm kidding, he's Marie's boyfriend. He picks me up first, then two more girls and he drives us to Marie's place and later home too.”

“Okay...not funny.”

“A little funny.”

“Really? Maybe I will call your friends Kim and Cheryl when you're not available.”

“Don't you dare mister!”

“And who is Marie?” he grinned and poked out his tongue.

“The girl who hosts tomorrow? Remember, I told you when we met on the stairs the day Sheldon moved out.”

“Right. So we might not see each other tomorrow.” he told her and she was a little surprised that he might be right. “Unless you call me to pick you up after.”

“No, I can't go through an entire day without a dose of Leonard.”

“Well, since you have the dinner shift tomorrow, I might be in bed already when you get home. Sheldon makes us get up at five in the morning to get ready for the fair.”

“That's not funny. I think I have to get my fill of Leonard now.” she said and reconnected their lips.

They continued kissing until Leonard's phone blared out its wake-up call. Both weren't aware that they had been kissing without pause for almost forty-five minutes.

 

* * *

 

True to his word, Penny spent her Friday without seeing Leonard. She sat at home while he was at work and around the time he was on his way home, she had to go to work. Her shift was stressful but at least she was happy thanks to all the sex she got the night before and morning and the tips were once again good.

“Hey Penny.” a voice behind her said.

“Cheryl.” Penny greeted her colleague icily.

“Listen, just so you know, I deactivated the automatic copying.”

“Well, that's a given. But I had Leonard fix it anyway.”

“Okay, that's good.” Cheryl said and was quiet for a while. “Penny, we're really sorry. We know it was wrong.”

“Then why did you do it? Have you any idea how violated that made me feel? What would you say if I stand in your bedroom while you have sex with your boyfriend in your bed? Because that is what it amounted too. You and Kim watched me and my current boyfriend in the most intimate connection two people can have and that shouldn't be watchable for everyone. Sure, some people may like it when others watch them but I don't.”

“But you showed us that recording...” Kim started, who had joined them during Penny's speech.

“That was an audio recording. Furthermore, I was stinking drunk, thanks to you two I might add. And if you only hear me. If you are afraid of people hearing you during sex, you can't live in an apartment block where you have neighbors or go to hotels or things like that. You might have heard me but at least you didn't see me.”

“Would it help if I make a video with my boyfriend for you to watch?” Kim asked.

“Would it...? No! This isn't the point.”

“Penny please. We only did that after hearing you brag about him so much an then in action. Do you know that you never said something like those things about Kurt in all those four years? But then you get together with Leonard and you fly around as if on cloud nine. Frankly, and that might sound derogatory, we only wanted to know what the fuss was about.”

“Fine, but that doesn't excuse what you did.” Penny said.

“No, it doesn't. We know that but we really are very sorry. Isn't there anything we can do to make up for it?” Cheryl asked.

“I have no idea. This isn't something you can put a price tag on. You exploited my trust in you two. How can I ever trust you again with anything? I don't want to get drinks with you anymore because I know I get talkative when I'm drunk and I fear that anything I might say goes online somewhere.”

“Penny, that will never happen, you know that. We already deleted the videos and nobody but us ever saw them. An we will never talk about it with someone else.” Kim said.

“Fine. But don't think our friendship will be as before. You still have a lot of making up to do.”

“Uh, really?” Cheryl asked a little surprised. “We kinda thought you'd profess your undying hate for us now, despite our apologies.”

“You can thank Leonard for that, he made a good point about this. A point I won't repeat now, I have work to do.” Penny said and walked away.

“Well, at least she won't kill us tomorrow at Marie's party.” Kim said.

 

* * *

 

As Leonard had said, they didn't see each other for the rest of Friday and Saturday. Penny sat in her apartment, ready to be picked up. In her desperation to waste some time, she had switched a shift with one of her new colleagues, a diminutive blond named Bernadette, who tried to pay her way through grad school.

So far, that girl was keeping to herself, not much interacting with the other waitresses and waiters. Which was fine for Penny, she didn't believe that they could be friends anyway, their social groups were way different. Although the same could be said about her and Leonard as well.

Suddenly someone knocked on her door. She wondered who it could be, since she wasn't experiencing anyone else than Eric but he would only have to ring the bell from downstairs. She stood up and opened the door to find Marie's boyfriend standing in front of it.

“Hey Eric, what are you doing here?”

“I'm here to pick you up, remember?”

“I mean, why are you up here? You could have rung the bell from downstairs.”

“True. But I believe it's more decent to knock on someone's door when you pick them up.”

“Aha. Marie trained you well it seems.” she grinned and grabbed her purse.

“That she did. But any woman who offers her body to a man can do that pretty easily if the penalty is the cessation of said offers.”

“Well said. Keep in mind who has the power in relationships.” she said and they went down the stairs.

As they went down, she could hear voices coming from below. A smile broke out on her face when she realized that one of those voices belonged to the man who she wanted at her side most.

“I don’t care what the bosoms say, Sheldon, I just want to be part of the conversation.” she heard Howard say just after they rounded the last corner to the lobby. She didn't know what the rest of the conversation was that led to this comment but she knew that only Howard could make a remark like that about breasts.

“Hi guys. How was the Renaissance fair?” she asked and gave Leonard a smile which he returned.

“Renaissance fair? More of a medieval slash age of enlightenment slash any excuse to wear a codpiece fair.” Sheldon said in a condescending tone.

“Okay, fine, whatever. Oh, this is Eric. Eric, these are the guys.”

“Hello.” Howard greeted him and was followed by Leonard and a hand wave from Raj.

“Well, this is all the time we have for introductions but we need to go. Bye guys.” Penny said and walked out of the building.

“Like your hat.” she heard Eric say before he too exited the building.

“Whose hat did you refer to?” she asked him.

“The guy in the jester costume, which looked kinda creepy.”

“Oh yeah, that's Howard. Once you get to know him you see that he's a real creep.”

“Okay. Was this Leonard you're dating one of those?”

“Yeah, he was the guy in the knights costume with the chain mail hood.”

“Really? Wow. I always thought you would end up...” Eric started and went quiet again.

“Yes? Keep talking.” she said icily.

“Well, with... um... bigger guys.”

“You mean like you?”

“Kind of, yeah. My friend Martin had some hopes of meeting you.”

“You can tell this Martin that he wastes his time if he decides to chase me. If you need more information as to why, you can get an abridged version from Kim or Cheryl.”

“Okay, got it.”

“And by the way. Stereotyping is not nice. Or need I remind you that others tend to believe that people like you usually date cheerleaders. And still you go out with Marie who's a member of the chess- and computer club and not a cheerleader.”

“She's still hot.”

“And Leonard is still an amazing man.”

“Okay, I'm sorry.”

“It's okay. Now drive, I want to get a drink.” she grinned and leaned back into the seat.

 

* * *

 

“Hey Penny, come on in.” Marie greeted her as she stepped into the apartment. Eric had picked up Lynn and Jennifer after getting her, and both girls were already making a beeline into the living room where more girls were already present.

“Hey Marie, thanks for the invite.”

“My pleasure, we haven't seen each other for almost two years now, it was high time.”

“Yeah true.” Penny said and walked with Marie into the living room.

She slowed a bit when she saw Kim and Cheryl standing at the window, chatting with smiles on their faces and drinks in hand. She bit back an angry snarl at Marie what she was thinking, inviting those two but held back when she realized that Marie didn't even know about their argument.

“Penny, something wrong?” Marie asked her and Penny realized that she was probably audibly grinding her teeth.

“Ah, it's nothing. Me, Kim and Cheryl are having a little spat right now, our relationship is quite strained.”

“Really? What did they do?”

“Something really bad. I don't really want to talk about it.”

“Oh, I understand. I hope it's not too weird with them being here. But I don't want to send anyone away.”

“It's okay. We had a little talk yesterday during our shifts but it's not water under the bridge yet. Not by a long shot.”

Kim and Cheryl gave Penny a little wave when the two women saw her and she returned it. She moved to the table to get herself a beer and was amazed how Marie always put out all the stops when hosting a gathering of any kind. The table held finger foods, drinks of every kind and several trays of meats and vegetables for the guests to make sandwiches.

She grabbed two pieces of bread, some lettuce, tomatoes and cheese and made herself a TLC before sitting down in one of the armchairs. As she ate, she grabbed her phone to check her messages before the evening really got started. After unlocking her screen, her face automatically lit up in a smile when she saw a message from her sweetie.

**By the way, after seeing you coming down the stairs with Eric, the guys are even more convinced that you broke it off after the date and are now dating him**

**Ah, those poor beautiful minds** she texted back with a grin.

**It's their own fault for not believing in me ;) I'm sure if they had believed our date went well, Howard would already asking me questions about your naked body and how it feels.**

**And what would your answer have been? :)**

**I would have said that she has an amazing body, beautiful face, well-rounded and firm breasts, perfect butt and very inviting, shaved folds that are a delight to lick and stick my manhood in ;)**

Again, Penny felt heat pooling in her abdomen when reading his description of her, the same reaction she had the day before when he said the exact same thing about her to her face. But back then she had been able to mount his face and receive two more orgasms, courtesy of his tongue.

“Someone is texting with her boyfriend.” a voice startled her out of her reverie. She switched off the screen and saw Cheryl smiling knowingly at her.

“Yeah, I am. So what?”

“Well, going by the blush on your face, you didn't just write that you are eating and drinking right now.”

“Shut up.”

“Don't worry, there won't be any more innuendos from me and Kim. We learned our lessons.”

“Good. So you're over this wanting to borrow him for a night?”

“Actually, we still wouldn't say no if that were possible but we know better than to risk your wrath. So no, we won't do anything in that regard.”

“Wise choice.” Penny said as Kim joined them. “Just out of curiosity, when did you two decide to abandon this plan of getting me to pass out so you can seduce him using blond wigs?”

“What the...? How do you know that?” Kim asked, shocked.

“I came by your place after throwing out Cheryl. Your door was open and I came in and overheard you.”

“Uh... well... during his birthday party, when you were sitting at the window. Your face was so full of worry and almost fear that we just couldn't do it. We thought our friendship with you is worth too much to have it broken over a guy. We also realized that we value our lives because you would have killed us.” Kim answered.

“That's true.” Penny smiled and made a snap decision. “Come here you two.” she said and enveloped them in a group hug.

“Does that mean all is forgiven?” Kim asked after they separated.

“Mostly, but you're on probation. If you do something like this ever again, I will hurt you in ways you can't even imagine.”

Grinning, but with a wicked look in her eyes that told Kim and Cheryl that she meant business, Penny went to another group of girls and clinked her bottle with some other guests. Soon enough, they were drinking more and more and the evening began to get very comfortable.

After six more hours, the buffet table was almost emptied of food but Marie had, in anticipation of her guests preferences, taken great care to provide several kegs of beer and dozens of bottles of different forms of liquor. Penny was sitting back in the armchair again, yet another beer in one hand and a shot glass of vodka in the other. They had been playing drinking games the entire evening and she was feeling very mellow.

“Okay girls, time for truth or dare.” Marie announced.

“Oh come on, are we twelve?” Cheryl babbled from the couch.

“No but we all have dark secrets we don't want to share but should. Don't we?”

“But we want to play drinking games.”

“Then we all take a shot of liquor after each spin.”

“Yeah, lets do it!” Kim shouted to the laughter of the others.

The group sat in a circle on the floor and one of the girls placed an empty vodka bottle on the floor in the middle. _'Plenty of those available.'_ Penny thought and tried to keep her eyes focused on the bottle. Thanks to the alcohol, her mind kept wandering to Leonard and his carnal skills and the thought of his tongue running over her body until it finally ended up between her legs was almost strong enough to make her call him to pick her up. But they probably wouldn't make it home, given her state of mind.

“Okay, I'm the hostess and it was my idea so I start.” Marie said and spun the bottle and everybody took a shot. It landed on Madeline. “Okay Madeline, truth or dare?”

“Truth.” Madeline replied.

“Have you ever thought about cheating on your husband?” Marie asked and Penny saw the wedding ring for the first time, her mind almost immediately going to the wedding she had always imagined having and seeing Leonard placing a ring on her finger.

“Yes.” Madeline said and lowered her head in shame to the raucous laughter of the other girls. She spun the bottle and it landed on Cheryl as everybody took the next shot of liquor.

“Truth.” Cheryl said.

“Have you ever tried to steal the man of another woman?” Madeline asked and Penny saw Cheryl blushing hard.

“Yes.” Cheryl said quietly and looked first at Penny and then at the floor.

_'At least she's remorseful and embarrassed about it.'_ Penny thought as Cheryl spun the bottle. As it spun, Penny felt apprehension. She was drunk, she knew that and the continued shots they had to do didn't help. The bottle landed on Lynn but Penny didn't quite hear the question or answer. But everybody laughed so it had to be funny.

Nine spins and nine shots later, the bottle landed on a very drunk Penny. She steeled herself inwardly when she saw Kim's evil grin.

“Okay, Penny, truth or dare.” Kim managed to get out.

“Dare.” she said after a few second of intense staring into Kim's eyes.

 

* * *

 

“...and when I came back into the living room, I saw him sitting on the rocking chair, reading his Kindl. He looked so cute rocking back and forth. If he had a blanket on his waist and white hair, he could have been mistaken for some grandfather. But no, he just had to be naked. Then he looked at me and gave me that infuriating grin. So I did what I had to do. I opened my robe, threw it on the floor and watched his cock get hard.

“And as soon as I had reached him, he was good and ready so I stepped on the chair and rode him to an inch of his life. Almost literal, because the chair creaked loudly and then rocked too far backwards for it to come back and we crashed to the floor. You have no idea how much that had hurt, although I was lucky since I had Leonard as a cushion. We put the chair back up and never used it again, and the owners don't seem to have noticed something, since we never got a bill for that thing.

“We finished on the bed, or to be exact, against the bed. We went to sleep after that since that time had been our seventh that day. I swore to myself to never have sex on the beach again but I know that I will do it again if Leonard seduces me on one. But I still prefer the bed, I love when it hammers against the wall and shows all my neighbors that the man I have can give it me so good, I only want to scream in pleasure.”

Penny stopped talking and downed her next drink, bringing her total to thirteen. Her friends looked at her with open mouths and wide-open eyes, shocked at what they just heard. When Penny had said dare, Kim dared her to describe the weekend she got steady with Leonard. And describe it she did. In a fifteen minute monologue that was worthy for a Tony award, she had told them in minute detail about every hour of the weekend, no matter if it were their walks or their carnal activities.

Penny had dozed off as the others looked at her, the alcohol in her system finally taking its toll. During her lull, most of the girls were either picked up by their drivers or brought home by Eric, who Marie had called a few minutes before. When Penny felt a blanket being put over her, she woke up again.

“Shh, go back to sleep Penny.” Marie whispered.

“No, I want to go home.” she slurred.

“I tell Eric to bring you when he gets back.”

“Nooooooo, I will call Leonard. He offered me to take me home. My sweetie wants to do that.” Penny said and pressed her new number one on the speed dial and after two minutes of ringing the sleepy voice of her boyfriend croaked through the airwaves.

“Yes.” Leonard's voice came through the speaker.

“Swetieeeeeee.” Penny squealed. “Can you pick me up from Marie's? I'll send you the address.”

“Yeah sure. I'll be there in twenty minutes or so.”

“Thank youuuuuu.” she said and hung up. “My sweetie is coming, I'm so happy.”

“I can see that.” Marie smiled.

Marie went to Kim and Cheryl who were sitting at the table with their heads in their hands, the alcohol they consumed taking its toll.

“Look at Penny, it's so cute.” Marie started and they all looked at their blonde friend who was constantly humming some nondescript tune and smiling widely.

“She's probably thinking about Leonard.” Kim said.

“I have never seen her like this.” Marie interjected. “Not even in her first year with Kurt and she was living with him then.”

“That's because she loves Leonard. She wants to marry him someday and have kids with him. She said as much the last time she was drunk. But I think she doesn't remember that.”

“Really? Wow.”

“And get this. His friends have no idea they are dating. Her boyfriend and his friends are all geniuses and they want to see how long it takes them to figure out they are together. And so far nothing.”

“What?” Marie asked. “It took me one look to see that she was really happy.”

“Us too. We knew exactly when she had sex. You should have seen her sometimes after having a hot night, glowing like a street light. Can't imagine how she looks like right after getting her tenth orgasm and having him continue to pound her.” Cheryl said and wisely left out that she and Kim knew exactly how Penny looked like right after sex. And during sex. And how she sounded.

“He's here!” Penny shouted as the doorbell rang. Marie buzzed Leonard in and soon enough, a knock was heard on the door. Marie opened it to find a short, bespectacled and very tired man standing in front of it, dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie.

“Yes? Can I help you?”

“Hi, I'm Leonard, I'm here to pick up Penny.” he said.

“You're Leonard?”

“LEONARD!” Penny shouted and ran into his arms, pressing her lips on his in a sloppy kiss.

“Okay, you really are Leonard.” Marie said with a smile, wondering if Penny was about to take her clothes off right now.

Luckily for everyone present, or not depending on whose point of view, Leonard had enough presence of mind to stop her from doing anything embarrassing. He helped Penny into her jacket and grabbed her purse before taking her hand to prevent her from falling.

“Okay... um... bye.” he said and turned to leave.

“Bye girls! I love you all!” Penny shouted happily and let Leonard lead her out of the apartment as Marie closed the door.

Leonard led Penny into the elevator, glad that this one was working. Penny kept hugging him while they rode down but before she could even think of kissing him, the doors opened again and she was led out into the lobby and then the open air. He led her to his car where Penny grabbed him again to place another wet, sloppy kiss on his lips after he opened the passenger side door.

“Leonard! I think my friends are so jealous.”

“Why? Did you tell them anything?” he asked.

“Do you have cake. I have a hankering for cake. Next time I have my period we can do anal. I really want some cake.” Penny babbled, ignoring his inquiry and got into the car, but her third sentence almost made him choke on his own saliva.

Leonard shook his head and got into the drivers seat, driving home slowly to avoid excessive bumping and swerving of the car so Penny wouldn't get sick in it. He could only smile when Penny kept humming some tunes in her drunken bliss. Better that than the alternative of puking and cursing.

After they had reached their apartment building, he parked the car and helped her out of it with some difficulties, mentally steeling himself for the task of helping a stinking drunk Penny up the stairwell.

“Come on, honey.” he said and pushed her forward to get her walking.

“You're such a great guy, sweetie.” she replied and with the help of the banister, she managed the stairs quite well.

“How much did you have to drink?” he asked after reaching the fourth floor.

“Oh, a lot of beer and a whole lot of stronger stuff.” she slurred back.

“Wow, lets better get you to bed.” he said and led her into her bedroom.

Leonard helped Penny out of her clothes, trying his hardest not to run his hands all over her body. Her current condition wouldn't make anything intimate enjoyable anyway. With some difficulties he managed to get her into her pajamas and into bed. He went across the hall to his own bedroom and got some of his own pain medicine in case Penny needed it in the morning.

When he got back, he saw Penny grinning happily up at him, this strange feeling of bliss people get when drunk. He placed the pills on her night stand and turned to get her some water.

“No, stay here, sweetie.” she slurred again, incapable of producing a well-spoken word.

“Penny, you need to get some sleep. I will check in on you around noon.”

“Why don't you stay here. We can have lots and lots of sex.”

“I would love to, really. But it would feel like I was taking advantage of you.”

“Aww, you're such a sweet man.” she managed to say and her voice went into the sexy region. “But I can see that you're thinking about my naked body, grinding on top of you.”

As Leonard tried to get that mental image out of his head, Penny's hand shot up to cup him, pressing it hard on him. He couldn't stop a soft moan escaping his lips, her touch gentle but demanding.

“Mhh, someone is happy to see me. I think you're friend down there deserves a reward for all his hard work.”

Before Leonard could comprehend what she had just said, Penny had managed to sit up and swing her legs off the bed, shoving Leonard's sweatpants and boxers down. Her left hand grabbed his manhood and her right went to his butt, pulling him closer to her. Any words he wanted to say that this wasn't the time for anything intimate went right out of his head as her lips closed around his tip and her tongue started to swirl, making his eyes flutter.

She didn't waste any time, and took him in completely before releasing him with a plopping sound, only to repeat the whole process a lot of times. The analytical part Leonard wanted to stop her, but the animalistic one won that battle easily as she took him in once more without releasing him, the constant pleasure making him unable to voice anything but moaning and groaning.

Her head moved in rapid speed while her lips were closed hard around him, setting fire to his manhood as her tongue continued to swirl around the sensitive tip. He looked down and saw her eyes lifting up to his, a smile in them. Whatever Penny's state of mind was, she was visibly enjoying herself.

“Um... Penny, if you don't stop, I'm gonna...” he started but Penny redoubled her efforts before he could finish his sentence.

And true to his attempted warning, he couldn't stop from coming into her mouth. But to his surprise, she didn't snap her head back but kept him inside until he was done before releasing him. He saw her swallow a few times before she grinned up at him like a Cheshire cat.

“Wow Penny, that was...” he tried to say.

“You taste bitter, sweetie. You should put some sugar on it the next time and then I can...” she said and promptly fell back on her bed, fast asleep. Still a bit in shock, Leonard pulled his boxers and pants back up and moved Penny back into her bed proper before tucking her in. He placed a glass of water and some more aspirin on her nightstand and wrote her a note. As a final touch, he put a bucket next to her bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead before heading into his own bed. His mind was still processing the picture of Penny's head moving forward and back, blowing him to orgasm and not spitting out his spill afterwards as if it was the most normal thing to do. What alcohol did to people. He still thought about that when he fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

Penny woke up with a splitting headache. The light from her living room stabbed her in the eyes like daggers and her stomach was in turmoil. Her mouth felt as if she had chewed on her carpet and washing it down with some bitter, thick cream.

After managing to get her eyes open, she saw two bottles of pills and two glasses of water on the nightstand and a bucket on the floor. The head movement it took to look down, made the bucket placement down there a good idea and she promptly expelled the contents of her stomach into it. As she tried to grab one of the glasses of water, her hand touched a piece of paper. She took it and saw a note, written in Leonard's handwriting.

_I won't say good morning because you probably feel like crap right now. If you're reading this with a pounding headache, I put some Ibuprofen pills next to the aspirin. It's a very potent painkiller and can cure even a hangover headache but it will also make you very tired. L :-x_

She smiled at his foresight and took some of his pills, popping two of them at once. She stood up on shaky legs and hauled herself into the bathroom, relieving the pressure of her bladder before splashing her face with water. She was about to swear off alcohol forever but knew that it would last only a day or two.

After getting back to bed and drinking some more water, she did already feel better but also very tired. Wondering what had happened the evening before, she fell asleep again, dreaming of sucking a banana that she never quite ate.

 

* * *

 

She woke up again to the sound of someone working in her kitchen. She knew that it was Leonard, nobody else would be stupid enough to enter her apartment without her consent. She got up and was pleasantly surprised by the absence of pain, although she felt extremely groggy. After doing her thing in the bathroom, which included taking off her make-up from the night before, she went into the kitchen.

“Morning sweetie.” she said and went over to him, giving him a loving kiss.

“Good evening, honey.” he replied and grinned at her surprised expression. “Oh yes, it's almost eight in the evening.”

“Oh no, I slept another Sunday away. That's getting old.”

“Not surprising. I saw that you took two of my pills. And since they are very potent, they also made you very tired.”

“At least they worked.”

“True. But you need to get minerals into your body.”

“What are you making?”

“Pickled herring. Also called rollmops.”

“Say what?”

“It's raw fish marinated in a salty sauce. An exceptional dish to get minerals back into your body.”

“If you say so.” she said and took one of the rolled fish. She pulled out the wooden stick and put the fish into her mouth. She had to admit, after overcoming the initial salty shock, it tasted quite good and didn't upset her stomach.

“I also bought a bag of crackers and zwieback and made some tea.

“What is zwieback?”

“It's twice-baked bread. The Germans invented it. It's amazing for upset stomachs. I've never heard of anyone needing to vomit after eating that.”

“You're so great, taking care of me.”

“Of course, you're my girlfriend. Although the guys are even more convinced we are not.”

“I know, you texted me yesterday. But that's the last thing I remember clearly, the liquor came out shortly after. Everything else is kinda blurry. And I have a total mental blackout from the moment we started the fifth round of truth or dare. I dread to think what I have told the girls.”

“Maybe you gave them some more details about my awesomeness in bed.” he grinned.

“Yeah yeah, get the smug grin out of your face or you won't be getting any for a week.”

“Right, as if you could manage that.” he said and poked out his tongue.

“Damn you.” she said, knowing he was right.

“Okay, you're all set. Eat this and try not to stay up too long. As I recall, you have the lunch shift tomorrow.”

“Oh, you're not staying?”

“I can't, I still have some work to do to prepare an experiment tomorrow.”

“Oh, okay. But before you leave, give me some sugar.” she said and pursed her lips. He closed in on her and pressed his to hers, removing them way too quickly.

“Bye Penny.”

“Bye, sweetie.” she said and watched him leave the apartment. She ate the stuff he put out for her and watched some TV before taking a shower and heading back to bed.

 

* * *

 

The next day at work, Penny was still nursing some of the aftereffects of the girls night. The food Leonard gave her helped with that but she still felt a little queasy at times. She still managed to serve the food and drinks with a smile and even seeing Kim and Cheryl didn't make her feel mad anymore.

“Hey girl.” Kim said during a lull.

“Hey Kim. Did you get home okay?”

“Yeah, Eric drove us. How did you get home?”

“I had Leonard pick me up, although I don't remember much of it, just bits and pieces. I do remember wanting some cake. I think Leonard got me something with a cream filling but that's about all I can recall.”

“Oh, too bad. The evening was quite nice. And very informative.”

“Why? Oh my god, what did I say? Or do?”

“Well, Kim dared you to tell us about the weekend you went steady with Leonard and you were quite descriptive and detail oriented.”

“Oh god.”

“Yeah, but the rocking chair thing was funny.”

“Oh god! Why do I always let myself get drunk when I'm with you. Nothing good comes out of it, ever.”

“Come on, it's not that bad. It's not like nobody of us didn't do most of the stuff you have done.”

“That doesn't make it better.” Penny said. “Believe it or not, when it comes to my sex life, I'm a private person.

“Sure, that's why you recorded it.”

“Hey, those videos are for private use only. And since you're not really off the hook for that, it would help our friendship if you don't bring that up.”

“Sorry, you're right.”

Penny saw a guest gesturing for her and left the two standing. One thing really was clear, she needed to stay away from excessive alcohol use or things like that would continue to happen. And she might have to talk to Leonard about last night and what had happened.

 

* * *

 

Five hours later, she parked her car at her apartment building, glad that the shift was over. It hadn't been boring but the whole waitress thing was a life of tedium and routine. She was happy to come home and get together with her sweetie again, even if they couldn't do anything if the others were around because of their agreement to let them figure it out without giving them the obvious hints. But she knew that at some point she wouldn't care anymore.

When she got into the building, she went to her mailbox to take out the contents. Before closing it, she paused and did a double-take to the stairs and sure enough, Sheldon was sitting there, playing some game on his laptop.

“Sheldon? What are you doing?”

“Playing Super Mario on a poorly coded Nintendo 64 emulator.” he replied, giving her the literal answer instead of the explanation she wanted.

“On the stairs? Why don’t you just go to a movie or something?”

“Alone? What if I choke on my popcorn, who will administer the Heimlich maneuver.”

“Well then don’t order popcorn.”

“No popcorn at the mo… listen to yourself.” he said and Penny had to bite her tongue to stop her remark about his mother and her mating habits with a certain animal.

“Well why don’t you go to a coffee shop.” she asked

“I don’t drink coffee.”

“They have other things. You know, cookies, pastries…”

“Pastries such as bearclaws?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I don’t like bearclaws.”

“Going back to my first question, why do you play on the stairs?”

“I’m a modern day Napoleon exiled to the Elba of the staircase because Leonard, get this, has a date.”

_'SAY WHAT?'_ her mind screamed. “He has a date? With whom?”

“Hey Penny. Dumbass.” said the voice of Leslie Winkle, who had just entered the building, the last remark directed at Sheldon. She didn't stay but went up the stairs without looking back.

“Leslie Winkle. Of all the overrated physicists in all the labs in all the world, why does it have to be Leslie Winkle?” Sheldon said but Penny wasn't really listening. Her thoughts were centered on the fact that a woman, one that her current boyfriend had sex with once, was on her way up the stairs to have a date with said current boyfriend. She had no idea how that came about, Leonard would never agree to a date with Leslie, much less in his home.

“Okay, well I have a to go, so see ya.” Penny said, ignoring Sheldon who had complained the entire time she hadn't been listing.

She stomped up the stairs and upon reaching the fourth floor, immediately went into 4A. When she entered, she saw Leslie sitting on the couch and Leonard, dressed quite nicely, bustling about in the kitchen. There were already three sets of dishes and three wineglasses on the table. _'Wait, three glasses? What is going on here?'_

“Leonard?” she said in the sweetest voice she could muster, as Leslie was smirking at her from the couch.

“Hey Penny. Dinner is ready in a few minutes, you can still go change.” he replied, which confused her even more and had the effect of dissipating the anger she was feeling.

“Uh, what is going on here?”

“What do you mean? Didn't you get my text?”

“I... uh.” Penny started and looked in her bag for her phone, not finding it. “Oh, I must have forgotten my phone in my apartment, be right back.”

She went to her place and sure enough, her phone was lying on the couch. She took it and saw a message from Leonard, dated a few hours ago.

**Hey honey. I hope you can come to my place tonight, we have dinner with Leslie. Will explain then in person xxx**

She looked at her attire and closed the door before going into her bedroom to change. She discarded her clothes and took a shower in record time. After drying off, she put on some underwear and picked a dress with flower motif, whose neck strap didn't allow for a bra. She stepped in front of her mirror and, with a few tugs and pulls, optimized the presentation of her cleavage.

She knew she wasn't as smart as Leslie but she was determined to show that woman what she was offering Leonard and why he was her boyfriend. Putting on a light make-up, she headed back into 4A, Leonard's bulging eyes and open mouth telling her that the dress-choice had been a good one. Even Leslie's eyebrows went up a fraction, which Penny took as a possible sign of envy and she smiled inwardly.

“Okay, now tell me what's going on.” she commanded.

“Howard texted me that your and Leonard's relationship crashed to the ground like blue eyes from an airplane lavatory.” Leslie started.

“What, really?”

“No, that's the actual quote.” Leonard confirmed.

“Anyway.” Leslie continued. “I asked Leonard for a date and he cleared up the misunderstanding. But this date is actually a ploy to mess with doctor dumbass downstairs.”

“I see. Still, was quite a shocker to me when Sheldon said you had a date and then Leslie walked by.” Penny said to Leonard.

“Sorry, I should have called you instead of just messaging.”

“It's okay. So, what are we having?”

“Orange Chicken for me and Leslie and some Spring Rolls for you, enough rice and sauce to go around, some desert and of course wine that goes with this grand meal.” Leonard said.

“So Leslie” Penny started after taking the plate Leonard had prepared for her. “Why don't you like Sheldon?”

“Because he's an arrogant, misogynistic East-Texas doorknob that told me I should abandon my work with high energy particles for laundry and child bearing."

"Wow, I knew he could be blunt and forward but that's mean, even for him."

"Actually, that's simply Sheldon." Leonard defended his roommate. "If only you knew what I have to endure every day."

"Then how can you still live with him?" Leslie asked.

"I'm used to such abuse, living with my mother for sixteen years hardened me. In comparison to her, Sheldon is downright nice." he answered and took a sip of his wine.

“Okay. Leslie, tell me, if I weren't in the picture, what would your conversation have gone today?”

“I'd have asked him, how many children we should have.” Leslie replied in her dry tone and Penny watched Leonard choke and cough in shock.

_'Time for some fun.'_ she thought. “Well, I thought about three, first two boys, twins would be best since it means one less pregnancy, and then a girl. That way the boys could protect her later from all the other boys her age.”

Her imagination was rewarded with a wide-eyed Leonard, who looked at her as if she had lost her mind. She could almost read his mind. Where did this come from? How long had she these thoughts? Is she pulling my leg?

Penny had to admit, in a comfortable environment with some alcohol, Leslie was good company, if a bit straightforward with her questions. She hadn't even noticed that almost two hours had gone by. She knew that she had to explain to Leonard that her comments about kids were only in jest but deep down she wondered how much of it was true. She desired a career as an actress but had on occasions thought about living a quite family life that involved her, Leonard and an unknown number of kids.

“Well, I need to go to the bathroom now.” Penny said and got up, moving towards Leonard's bathroom.

“And I think, it's time for me to head home. We still have to work tomorrow.” Leslie stated and got up as well. “Leonard, can you get to my lab tomorrow morning and activate the helium-neon laser so it's warmed up when I get in? I need to go to a grant meeting in the morning.”

“Oh, sure, I can do that.”

Penny didn't hear anymore after she closed the bathroom door. This evening had started strange, with her almost thinking that Leonard would be so bold as to make a date with another woman in his apartment where she usually entered without knocking.

She was also somewhat proud of herself. A few months ago, she would have blown a gasket and probably hurt both him and Leslie for doing it but this time she remained calm enough for him to explain what was going on.

She washed her hands and went outside again, seeing Leonard and Leslie standing in front of the door, a cable now running out into the hall.

“You just missed Sheldon.” Leonard remarked. “His laptop battery was dying and he laid an extension cord into the hall.”

“He's more than convinced that me and Leonard are attempting to date.” Leslie said. “Your secret is still safe.”

“The funny thing is, we don't even want to keep it secret anymore.” Penny said. “We just wait for them to figure it out without us giving them the obvious signs like mouth to mouth kisses. But so far the whole idea of me and Leonard dating seems to be so far fetched to them that they ignore all the hints. I mean, come on, how much more will Sheldon believe that Leonard walks so funny because he fell asleep on my couch again.”

“That's one reason why he's a dumbass.” Leslie stated. “Well, it's been fun. Good night you two. Now you can take him to your place and have him undress you.”

“How would you know if that happens tonight?” Penny asked.

“With that dress? You didn't choose this by blindly grabbing something in your closet. You wanted him to get you out of it.”

“That's not why I chose it.”

“Sure it wasn't.” Leslie said with a wink. “Bye guys.”

“Bye Leslie.” Leonard said and closed the door after she had left. “So, you want me to get you out of that dress, huh?”

“Shut up. That's not why I chose this one?”

“Really? So, to sum it up, you choose a dress that is two inches away from flashing my breast friends and you don't want me to get you out of it? Are you wearing any underwear?”

“Seriously, breast friends? And yes, I'm wearing underwear.”

“Oh, does it cover your ass?” he asked and grinned widely when she lowered her gaze. “I thought so.”

“Well, I'm going over to my place now. Thanks for the dinner, it was delicious.” she said and on her way to the apartment door she lifted the back of her dress up, showing him her thong-clad behind. She heard him following her as she opened the door and she ran giggling towards her own apartment. When Leonard reached the hallway, Sheldon appeared around the corner of the stairs, his laptop in hand and rolling up the extension cord.

“Penny, good thing you're here. There is something I need you to do.” he said, reaching the floor.

“And what is that?” she asked.

“Go into your apartment, take Leonard with you and talk it out.”

“Talk what out?” Leonard asked.

“Whatever you need to say to convince her to go back dating. You seeing Leslie Winkle is disrupting my life and I won't stand for it.”

“You won't stand for it?” Leonard replied confused.

“No. I'd rather put up with Penny than with that underrated wannabe scientist.”

“Gee thanks.” Penny said sarcastically. “But sure, Leonard and I can... talk.” she added seductively.

“Please do.” Sheldon said, not understanding the innuendo.

“But Sheldon, what if I fall asleep on her couch again?” Leonard asked.

“Your bodily discomfort is a small price to pay for my peace of mind.” the lanky physicist replied and disappeared into the apartment, leaving the two of them standing in the hallway.

“Well, get in here so we can... talk.” Penny said and wiggled her eyebrows before going into her apartment.

 

* * *

 

She had taken five steps when her apartment door slammed shut and the sound of fast moving feet got closer. Before she could turn, strong hands grabbed her from behind and pushed her towards her bedroom as a pair of lips closed on her pulse point. The sensation immediately sent tingles through her body, expectant heat pooling in her lower abdomen.

Leonard let go of her waist and lifted her neck strap over her head, the dress falling to the floor as soon as it wasn't born by her neck anymore. He turned her around and connected their lips, his hands wandering down to grab her behind, softly kneading it. Her own arms went around his neck as his tongue entered her mouth.

She could still taste their dinner on his lips and savored the taste while his hands played with the waistband of her thong. Her own hands were busy opening the buttons of his shirt and pants, the latter falling to the floor as she finished pulling down the zipper. Once Penny had managed to get his hands away from her ass for a second, his now open shirt quickly followed his pants, leaving both of them standing only in their underwear and, in Leonard's case, socks.

Leonard grabbed around her thighs and pulled hard while simultaneously pushing against her upper body, causing her to fall back on the bed with a surprised yelp. Before she could comprehend what he just did, he had pulled her thong off. She looked at his grinning face and licked her lips when he dropped his shorts and took his socks off, flicking them away with his feet. She scooted backwards as he climbed on the bed, crawling towards her with a look of pure lust, his eyes dark with arousal and she knew that her own eyes mirrored his.

He kissed his way up her left leg, closer and closer to the spot where she wanted his lips and tongue the most. Just before he was there and an expectant hiss escaped her lips, he separated his mouth from her skin and started on her right ankle.

“Leonard.” she growled, her voice thick with arousal just as he reached her knee.

“Yes?” he asked after again separating his lips from her skin, knowing exactly what she wanted. “Want me to start over?” he asked and she tried to shake him off when he moved down to her ankle again.

“Don't you dare. I need you, now!”

“So impatient.” he said quietly and continued from her knee, slowly kissing his way up her right thigh.

Her breath got heavier as he moved closer and closer to her center again and she spread her legs wide in expectation. His lips and tongue touched her around her center, never getting close enough to where she wanted him.

“Tell me what you want.” he said and softly breathed against her throbbing center.

“You're evil.” she growled.

“Me? But I'm the innocence in person.” he replied, still not touching her.

“Fine! I want you to lick me.” she ordered and spread her legs even wider, something she thought would be impossible.

“Your wish is my command.” he said and her head fell back on her pillow as his lips surrounded her nub.

Her hands went behind his head, pushing him on her, as he once again did magic with his tongue. After less than three minutes, her breath started hitching and her hips bucked, the orgasmic pulses too hard to ride out without motion. He kept up his ministrations, alternatively running his tongue over her labia and sucking on her clitoris.

“Oh god!” she shouted as he suddenly put two fingers into her, slowly pushing them in and out.

She moved her hips with him, increasing the sweet friction he was providing, feeling herself climbing another hill of pleasure, the summit in clear view. But before she could reach it and jump down the other side, his entire movement stopped, his fingers still inside her.

She looked at him and saw him grinning at her, one arm around her waist. She tried to create friction by moving her hips but he held her down and kept her from achieving her goal. His knowing smile made her feel both furious and even more aroused.

“Keep moving. Please Leonard, keep going.” she pleaded but he wouldn't comply.

“Soon. But first, will you come with us the renaissance fair next weekend?”

“Really? Now you choose to ask me?” she asked exasperated, knowing exactly what he was doing.

“It's a good time as any.” he replied with that annoying grin and calm tone of his while she desperately wanted him to move.

“Fine, I will think about.” she growled and then shouted out her orgasm when he attacked her nub again while at the same time hooking his fingers to stimulate her g-spot. He prolonged her orgasm to almost a minute doing that and let go of her once she had ridden it out.

“You're so beautiful.” he said softly while climbing up her body.

She didn't reply as words were made unnecessary when he entered her. Her legs hooked around his waist, keeping him close and using her calves to help push him harder into her. His arms hooked around her shoulders, keeping him from pressing his weight onto her and simultaneously holding her steady so her entire body wouldn't be shoved up the bed whenever he pushed in.

“Oh god Leonard! Yes!” she breathed as he pounded her in a steady rhythm.

“God Penny, you're so tight.” he mumbled into her neck as he ran his tongue over it, sucking on her pulse point. “Penny, I'm gonna...”

“STOP!” she shouted and he immediately complied, looking down at her with concern.

“What is it? Do you feel any pain?”

“No. No no. But I don't want you to come yet, this feels too great to finish already. Lets go slower and enjoy this for a while longer.” she pleaded.

“Okay.” he smiled and lifted her legs to her shoulders, pressing down her knees.

The change in angle increased her pleasure even more, despite the slower speed. She lifted her head slightly and simply watched him moving slowly in and out of her. It was a view that she would have a hard time describing to anyone, his manhood moving down, stretching her wide until it was in completely before it came out again.

She had never watched it like this, only in their recordings but from other angles and from further away. But here and now she had a front row seat to the concert that was their most intimate connection. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sound of sex. Her moaning. His controlled breathing, showing her that he was trying to prolong it as long as she wanted. The soft squishing like sound that made it clear how wet she was for him.

She opened her eyes again and looked once more. Every time he pushed in, he pressed his lower body on hers, increasing the pleasure to an almost unbearable level for that one moment. She knew that if he could hold that feeling for more than a moment, which was impossible because of the need for movement to achieve it, she would have a constant orgasm.

“Leonard.” she breathed, after watching and listening to their lovemaking for ten minutes. “Come for me.”

He didn't need any more encouragement. His movements immediately increased in speed, faster and faster, both their breathing getting more labored although he was doing the work. She kept her eyes on their connection, little explosions of pleasure occurring inside her brain whenever he was completely down.

It wasn't long when she felt her insides clench, the motion radiating outwards to her entire body. She was already twitching while he kept up his pace but he breathing told her that he was almost there yet. As the scream of pleasure escaped her throat, he came with a mighty groan and he watched his manhood twitching as it unloaded into her.

_'I love you Leonard.'_ she thought in that moment of deep connection but was still not able to bring herself to say it first, something that made her loath herself for being such a coward. She was almost sure that he would respond in kind but that minuscule chance of rejection was still nagging at her mind.

“We should have... talks like this more often.” Leonard said into her ear, his head beside hers.

“Could be our new code word. I just say something like “Lets have a talk in private” with a pause before the word talk and that's the code for sex.” Penny grinned.

“Great idea. Lets see how long it will take the guys to finally figure out what we are doing.”

“If they were anything like my girlfriend it would be enough to walk into the room when you are in it.”

“Well, guys are dense like that.” he said and attempted to get up.

“No, don't get up yet, stay with me for a bit longer. But you could let go of my legs.” she said and tapped his arms that were still holding her legs in that upward position that made it look as if he had folded her.

He let go and she stretched her legs, holding her arms close behind his back. She pressed little kisses to his neck and shoulders and ran her feet up and down his legs.

“If we don't get up soon, we'll have to change you sheets again.” he said and she could hear the grin in his voice.

“Okay, you win, lets get cleaned up.”

Both went into the bathroom and did their after-sex ritual of washing each others bodies. Penny did a few bounces to help gravity along while Leonard watched her breasts jiggling with lust-filled eyes.

“Like what you see?” she grinned.

“Always.” she smiled back and touched them, letting his fingers run over her nipples.

“Want something to eat?” she asked.

“I'm good. If I get hungry, I just eat you.”

She playfully pushed him out of the bathroom and did her ablutions before returning to the bedroom. She watched him get comfortable on her bed and was happy that he decided to do it without putting his shorts back on.

“So, anymore we can talk about?” he asked, still smiling.

“Oh, you can believe one thing Leonard.” she said and climbed on the bed, swinging her legs over his body and sitting down on his abdomen. “We're not done... talking tonight. Not by a long shot.” she grinned and leaned down to kiss him. Yes, this night would be great again.

 

* * *

 

**And here's the stopping point. I hope you liked it ^^**

**Review please :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Wow, it's hot in Germany these last few days. Almost unbearable, sitting in my living room, writing at 86° Fahrenheit (or 30° Celsius). But I managed to finish another chapter. The word count is again in the five digit range but I can't help it, sorry.**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.**

* * *

Penny felt great. Really great. Even though it was not even six in the morning. And it was all thanks to the person behind her whose hands were currently gently rubbing over her breasts as she was lying with her back against his chest. Leonard had once again managed to come over the evening before just before bedtime and proceeded to show her what it meant to have sex.

"Was Sheldon already in bed again when you came over?"

"No, he was playing, completely engrossed in it. I just said I'm going to bed and came here. I assume he thought I was already sleeping when he was done playing."

"He didn't see you leave the apartment?"

"No, and I never specified which bed I was going to." he grinned and placed a kiss on the side of her head.

“I am glad you chose mine.” she smiled and turned her head to him. He took the invitation and kissed her on the mouth, their tongues intertwining and exploring each others mouths. Apart from the sex, which had so far never disappointed, this was one of the things Penny loved about Leonard. During her four years with Kurt, they rarely cuddled and kissed like this. After sex, he usually fell asleep quickly, sometimes not even staying awake long enough to clean himself up.

But not Leonard. Not only did he cuddle, he always put her happiness over him. He took great care to make her climax by any means necessary. That fact alone made her coin him the king of foreplay, a moniker she had given him after drinking one too many glasses of wine. Not that he minded though. He had taken and ran with it, showing her time and again how fitting it was.

Last night had been no exception. After a few glasses of wine she had pulled him into the bedroom and ripped the clothes off his body before getting naked herself. She had gotten on her back and spread her legs and he had jumped into bed, burying his head between her legs and started doing his magic again.

But this time, she had wanted to know how long it would take him to get her to unravel and she had used her phone to measure the time. And after exactly two minutes and forty-two seconds, her hips bucked and a loud moan escaped her throat as the orgasm washed through her. Not wanting him to stop, she had turned them around and sat on top, moving back and forth and ordering him to keep his tongue in constant contact with her labia and clit.

He hadn't disappointed and for another fifteen minutes, she had been in heaven. Her yells of pleasure had echoed through the apartment as four more orgasms coursed through her and after she had climbed off him, he once again had that infuriating smug grin on his face. But she had been unable to do anything but grin back. And then, thanks to being extremely horny, she had given him a three word command that set the stage for the next twenty-five minutes.

“Fuck me hard!”

And he did. He had turned her onto her stomach and she had giggled in anticipation of her most favorite position until he had pushed inside her, from when on her giggles had turned into loud, rhythmic moans.

Originally, she had planned to switch their position at least once but oh my god, had it felt good. And even though he managed twenty-five minutes, she was surprised when he came and pulled out. As she had lain twitching in orgasmic bliss, she had felt a little guilty for not giving him his favorite position.

But she had remedied the situation the morning after. After waking up because of her need to go to the bathroom, she had returned to find his part of the comforter tenting, signaling his morning wood. To return the favor he had once done, she had climbed on the bed and sunk down on his manhood before waking him up by riding him hard.

And now, their lips connected, his hands caressing her breasts and more marks on her hips from his fingers, she felt content. Lying in his arms, his breath on her neck and his lips feathering her skin with soft kisses, she never wanted to leave. This moment right here reinforced her conviction that somewhere down the line, in a few years, they would lie in the same position as they are now but they would each hold up their left hands to make their wedding bands touch. And his hands would glide over her pregnant belly.

But that was still far away. And although she would love to hear his commitment to her and then say it back, she still had an acting career to get underway. That reminded her of something important she wanted him to tell.

“Guess what. I have an audition today.” she proudly said.

“That's great. What is it for?”

“It's for a national commercial.”

“For what product?”

“I have no idea. But they are looking for young blond women with good measurements.”

“You certainly qualify for that.” he said and softly squeezed her breasts.

“Thanks sweetie. I hope I get it, it's a two-hour drive to get there.”

“Seriously, in terms of desirability, you win that hands down.” he said and let his hands run up and down the sides of her body.

“Of course you say that, you're my boyfriend.”

“Well yeah, but... okay, I have no other argument. Still, there's no one else I could imagine lying naked with.”

“Oh, someone wants into my pants again.” she grinned and wiggled her ass on him, causing a distinct reaction to occur.

“Going by the fact that we are currently lying pressed against each other with no clothes on, I'd say I already achieved that.” he smiled and received a playful hit with her elbow.

“Then take this fact for a change. Your soldier is starting to salute again, so I guess I win this argument.”

“When it comes to that, you always win the argument. That's just a fact. Men will do anything if a woman wiggles her breasts or ass.”

“Don't worry, I only wiggle mine for you.” she grinned and continued to softly grind against him, feeling him stiffen even more.

Leonard took his right hand from the side her body and snaked it between her legs, which opened almost by reflex. She let her head fall back on his shoulders and gave him a soft, appreciative moan.

“Leonard? What makes you think I want more sex now?” she asked, playfully.

“Oh, you spread your legs and I can feel you get wet.”

“Maybe that's just a ploy on my part.”

“So you want me to stop?”

“Of course not.” she grinned and gave a hiss when his finger softly flicked over he nub.

He grabbed her thighs and pulled her higher to get access to her center. She grabbed his manhood and positioned it where it needed to be before he pushed her down again. Both gave loud moans at the contact. Leonard held her waist tight and gently pushed in and out, the speed slow and measured to prolong the amazing feeling he was having.

“Leonard, speed up. I want you to make me come.”

“Do I have to? It feels so amazing. You're so tight and wet and warm, it's unbelievable.”

“We can do it slow the next time, I promise. But now please, speed up. I need you.”

Of course, he couldn't resist her pleading and picked up the pace. He let himself sink back into the cushions and concentrated on his movements. He saw Penny place her feet left and right of his knees and use her arms to lift her body up. After getting stability in her position, she started bouncing hard, meeting his every thrust, squealing in delight every time she was down and he was up because as it had always done in this position, his manhood stimulated her g-spot hard.

“Penny, I'm gonna...” he started to say but she couldn't hear anything else as her own orgasm rushed through her, drowning out his voice with her scream. He came at the same time, spilling deep inside her with a loud groan, his arms still around her waist, holding her tight.

“Wow.” she said. “You're really making a morning person out of me.”

“If I wake you and you're in this mood even without sex, I will believe you.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“You could say that.” he replied.

“What are you betting?”

“Okay, if I win, you will come with us to the next ComicCon, dressed as Princess Leia in the golden bikini.”

“And you'd be okay with thousands of nerds ogling me?”

“Um... point taken. Maybe we can find another costume that shows off your curves and tells everybody around us that the guy with the glasses has one smoking hot girlfriend.”

“So you basically just want to brag?”

“Yeah. So, deal?”

“Okay. But if... no, when I win, you owe me something.”

“What?”

“Not saying yet. Don't worry, it's something that won't cost you money.”

“Okay, deal.” he said and they shook hands. “But now I need to get up. I still need to shower before I have to go to work. At least the drive will be nice, Sheldon took the rest of the week off to play his game.”

“And I need to sleep some more. Don't want to do my audition with that sated but tired grin in my face.”

“Don't want the other girls to know you had sex?”

“I don't care about the other girls, if it were only about them I'd wear a sign around my neck that says “I had sex three times last night and my boyfriend gave me a dozen orgasms”. But the people deciding who to choose might not want to see a tired woman in front of them.”

“Fair point.” he said and got up, putting the comforter back over her before kissing her on the forehead. “When will you be back?”

“I don't know, why?”

“I thought we could go out tonight.”

“I'd love to. How about I call you before I get home? I need to do some grocery shopping anyway.”

“That's the point, you can't call me. I'm doing an electromagnetic pulse experiment today so I can't have my phone with me.”

“Oh, well, then I guess I see you when you get back or vice versa.”

“Okay, that will work. Sleep well.” he said and brought his head closer to hers.

She snaked her arms around his neck and gave him a deep kiss before letting him go. After she heard her apartment door close, she exhaled in a satisfied sigh, wondering if he ever would say those three magic words that would make her so happy to hear that they would break her bed in their carnal celebration afterwards. She hoped he would. Because last time after they had sex, she had admitted it to herself. She loved him. With all her heart.

And on some level, it still scared the hell out of her.

* * *

 For an hour now, Penny had sat in the waiting room for her turn. So far, about ten other blond women had gone in and come out again, some smiling, some not, indicating who got promised a recall and who hadn't. She desperately hoped that she would be in the first bracket, since it would mean another step to her first acting job since coming to California.

“NEXT!” came the shout from the room and Penny got up, putting the Kindle she had borrowed from Leonard without asking him, into her purse.

“Hi.” she said after entering the audition room.

“Sorry, you're look is too Midwest.” the man sitting in the middle stated even before she could close the door. “NEXT!”

Penny stood open-mouthed as the next girl came into the room, a harrumph from the woman sitting left of the shouter snapped her out of her stupor and made her go out of the room. Still in shock at her immediate rejection, she got into her car and closed the door before letting out a scream of rage and desperation.

She spent the entire two-hour drive back to Pasadena cursing and muttering to herself. Right now she wanted to strangle the world. It has been two years ago since Kurt had convinced her to move to L.A. with him and she had wanted to be an actress even before that. But so far she hadn't gotten even one acting job. The work she did to support herself sucked, she hasn't gotten a raise so far, which might have something to do with the fact that she was a terrible waitress.

The only ray of sunshine in the darkness of her mood was Leonard. His presence in her life gave her strength to withstand this latest blow to her confidence to make it. She had planned for mind-blowing celebration sex tonight, with dinner and wine before but her mood was so far down, the only thing he might give her was a pity-fuck and she didn't want that.

Still cursing, she parked her car in front of the supermarket and grabbed a cart. Once inside, she went directly for the wine section, loading her cart with several bottles to be prepared when she broke down and needed to drown her sorrow. Ignoring the produce section, she went to the frozen aisle, packing several boxes of ice cream into her cart. At least one of these would already be empty tonight.

“Hello Penny.” a known voice greeted her from behind. She closed her eyes and did a quick mental count of ten before turning around.

“Kurt.” she greeted her ex icily. He was the last person she wanted to see right now.

“How are you?”

“I have been better.” she stated.

“You see? You were better off with me. And I am willing to take you back as soon as you apologize for leaving.”

“Apolo...” she started, not believing her ears. This day was getting worse by the minute. “Are you out of your mind?! You cheat on me and want me to apologize? And what makes you think I would be better off with you?”

“You just said...”

“That I'm feeling a bit down right now but that has nothing to do with you.”

“Come on Penny, don't be like that. I have changed. I'm sure we can make us work again.”

“Holy crap, you really are a neanderthal. It seems all those steroids have really fried your brain. Listen to me, I have a boyfriend who I'm very happy with. You will never, EVER see my body naked or be allowed to touch it again. Leonard is ten times the man you are, even if he's not as tall as you.”

“Leonard? You're dating that nerd? I could easily break him in half.”

“And then what? Are you under the impression that my feelings will magically transfer from him to you just because you beat him up? Grow up and face reality. You had your chance and you blew it with your cheating ways. And now leave me alone.”

Penny pushed her cart around and walked away from Kurt, desperately wanting to put some distance between them. No such luck of course as she realized he was following her, probably to try to convince her some more.

“Penny, don't be like that.” he said more aggressively and grabbed her arm, yanking her around.

“Let go of me, you idiot.” she yelled and kicked him. She had intended to kick him in the groin which would have effectively taken him out for a while but he was able to turn a bit and she only hit his thigh, still hard enough for him to let her go and hold it. He'd have a nasty bruise a day later.

“You fucking bitch.” he yelled, holding his thigh.

She saw his face turn into a mask of rage and she realized that this would end badly. Her fears were validated when he started running towards her. She turned her cart around to maybe stop the blow that was coming but before Kurt could reach her, a ham-sized fist hit his face from the side and he flew by her, missing her by a few feet, crashing into a pile of diaper bags. Penny head swiveled around to look at her savior and saw a familiar looking woman approach her.

“Penny, are you okay?” the woman asked her and Penny tried to remember where she knew her from.

“Yeah thanks. Oh, it's Alice, right?” Penny asked, finally remembering. And true enough, the gargantuan form of Frank walked by, holding his hand.

“Hello Penny.” he greeted her in his diaphragm-shaking voice. “Don't worry, I will take care of him.”

She watched as Frank lifted Kurt up as if he weighed nothing, throwing him over his shoulder. He exited the store and went around the corner and Penny didn't care if Frank just dropped him into some garbage can or beat him up. Either way would be fine for her.

“Thank you so much.” Penny said to Alice and hugged the tall woman.

“It's fine. Luckily we heard him shout. Are you sure you're okay?”

“Yeah. Well no, the day has started to suck two hours ago and this situation right now didn't make it better. I better finish my shopping and head home.”

“You might want to go to the police so you can get a restraining order against that guy at some point.”

“I might do that.”

Penny said her thanks to Frank, who had came back and then her goodbyes to both of them, quickly finishing her shopping and getting back into her car. This day had started in such an amazing way but now it just couldn't get any worse.

* * *

She got home and grabbed her bags after parking her car. She kicked the building door open and started walking up the stairs, cursing at her landlord again for not fixing the elevator. As she walked on the second floor to the next set of stairs, a fly started buzzing around her. She flung her head left and right, trying to drive it away and walked up the next set of stairs.

When the fly suddenly returned, Penny's head-shaking made her trip. Trying to balance her bags so they wouldn't fall down she inhaled sharply in her shock and my pure chance she inhaled the fly. She tried to spit it out but unfortunately the swallowing reflex came first and she felt the fly going down her throat.

“Son of a bitch!” she cursed at yet another misfortune. This day really was horrible.

When she finally arrived on the fourth floor, she put the bag in her right hand on her left arm, balancing both on one side of her body and fished her key ring out of her pants pocket. The put the key in and tried to turn it with no luck. Wondering why it wouldn't turn, she realized in dismay that she had put her car keys into her door lock and it wouldn't come out again.

“Stupid, damn car key, stupid, damn door.” she cursed loudly and started kicking her door, the grocery bags still balanced on her left arm. And as if the day hadn't been bad enough, her neighbors door opened but instead of her boyfriend, his whacky roommate appeared in the hallway.

“Penny, are you experiencing some sort of difficulty?” he asked her the obvious.

“Yes, I can’t get my stupid door open.” she replied.

“You appear to have put your car key in the door lock, are you aware of that?”

“Yeah!” she snapped.

“Alright then.” he said calmly and turned to go back inside. She yanked harder on the key but the movement finally made one of her bags slip out of her grasp. It fell to the floor, spilling its contents all around.

“Dammit, dammit, dammit. I can’t get the damned key out.”

“Well that’s not surprising.” he interrupted unhelpful. “That Baldwin lock on your door uses traditional edge mounted cylinders, whereas the key for your Volkswagen uses a center cylinder system.”

“Thank you, Sheldon.” she shouted at him.

“You’re welcome.” he said, again not getting her sarcasm. “Point of inquiry, why did you put your car key in the door lock?”

“Why? I’ll tell you why. Because today I had an audition, it took me two hours to get there, I waited an hour for my turn, and before I could even start they told me I looked too Midwest for the part. Too Midwest? What the hell does that even mean?”

“Well, the American Midwest was mostly settled by Scandinavian and Germanic peoples who, well they have a characteristic facial bone structure….”

“I know what it means, Sheldon! God, you know, I have been in L.A. for almost two years now, and I haven’t got a single acting job, I have accomplished nothing, haven’t gotten a raise at work and just now when I was walking up those stairs a fly flew in my mouth and I ate it.”

“Well, actually, insects are a dietary staple in many cultures, they’re almost pure protein.”

“The only reason I still have any happiness is because I have Leonard in my life.” she continued while she picked up the groceries that have fallen to the floor and put them back into the bag.

“Only Leonard? I suppose he is a helpful neighbor in that desperate-for-attention behavior but I'm offended that you don't seem to appreciate me, since I'm a delight.”

 _'Boy, he is so unable to get the hint.'_ “Sure you are.”

“Thank you.” he said and she was again amazed at his inability to understand sarcasm. After she had finished packing her bag, she lifted it up only for its contents to fall to the floor again when the bottom of the bag ripped open.

“Oh, son of a bitch!” she cursed once again.

“I believe the condensation on your frozen foods weakened the structural integrity of the bag. But returning to your key conundrum, perhaps you should call a locksmith and have him open the door for you.”

“I did, and he said he’ll get here when he gets here.”

“And you’re frustrated because he phrased his reply in the form of a meaningless tautology?”

“No! I am frustrated because I am a failure at everything and my breath smells like fly. _”_ she said and couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

“There there.” she heard him say as if fake empathy would help. She desperately wished Leonard were here to take her into his arms. “Would you prefer to wait in our apartment?” he asked her.

“No Sheldon, I’d rather sit on this freezing cold floor sobbing like a three year-old.”

“Alright then.” he replied and again turned around to return to his apartment.

“For God’s sake!” she shouted and got up before stomping into his apartment. He should really learn to understand sarcasm.

“Make yourself comfortable.” she half-heard him say and sat down in his spot. _“_ Not there.”

She moved to the other end of the couch and laid back, putting her feet on the table. She caught his look and reluctantly took them off. He squirmed past her and sat down in his spot again, putting the headset back on.

“Sheldor is back online.” he spoke into it.

 _'What the hell?'_ “Sheldor? What are you doing?”

“AFK. I’m playing Age of Conan, an online multiplayer game set in the universe of Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian.” he replied and turned back to his game.

“What’s AFK?” she asked.

“AFK. Away from keyboard.”

“Oh, I see.”

“What does that stand for?”

“Oh, I see?”

“Yes, but what does it stand for?”

“It doesn't stand for anything, they are three words.”

“Very well. Now please refrain from disturbing me, I need to concentrate.”

She watched him as he resumed playing his game, giving orders to the people he played with. He got progressively louder when certain members of his group didn't do what he wanted. She wondered how Leonard could stand living with him for years, if Sheldon got like that whenever he didn't get his way. He had been playing for almost four hours straight without ever even looking at Penny when he sat back.

“Fellow warriors. We're about to face the final boss, so everybody do a last bladder check.” he said into his headset but he didn't follow his advice. Maybe he was like a camel.

“When is Leonard coming back? It's almost nine in the evening.” she asked.

“He and Leslie Winkle” Sheldon started, saying her name in a very derogatory manner. “are doing a laser refraction experiment with a brand new laser in a private lab outside the university. They only have access today so they have to finish. He could be gone until midnight. And now be quiet, the battle continues.”

Penny let her head fall back on the couch headrest, sighing loudly. This was gonna be a long evening and the locksmith hadn't been here yet.

* * *

After another hour, Sheldon had seemingly finished his battle and was arguing with his teammates about who would get what. He was able to convince them quickly though and soon after he took off his headset and put the laptop on the table.

“Sheldon, can I try that game?”

“Why would you want to play Age of Conan?”

“It looks like fun. Killing stuff and getting rewards for it.”

“Fine. I create another account for you to try out.” he said and sat down at his laptop. “What screen name would you like to have?”

“Um... Queen Penelope.”

“You're in luck, it's not taken by anyone else yet. What class?”

“Which are there? Which ones kill stuff?”

“All of them kill stuff.”

“Okay, which ones kill stuff with swords?”

“Several. The Conqueror, which I play. The Guardian would be a good choice, it has the soldier archetype, has a sword and shield and is described as a mighty warrior.”

“I'll take that!”

“Okay, we are logged in. Take the laptop and start moving around. The quests in the starting area work as a tutorial. If something is unclear, ask.”

Penny played around a bit, walking and doing some shadow fighting to get a hang of the controls. Soon, she was clubbing small monsters to death and quickly leveled up.

“Sheldon, what does this quest want? It says, I have to look around for treasure.”

“Then do that. You are in an area that has several hidden and buried chests with money and sometimes loot in them. Oh look, there is one. Click on it.” he said and Penny did as she was told.

“Oh cool, it has boots in it. It says they are enchanted.”

“Now just click on the enchanted boots to put them on. Once you do, you finish the quest and get enough experience to get to level three. After that you look for more treasure so you get money.” he told her.

“Oh, I don’t know. Can I see the boots in another color?”

“Just click on them.” he said exasperated and she followed his advice. “Congratulations, you are now a level three warrior.”

“What’s going on?” came the voice of Leonard, who had just walked into the apartment. Penny looked at him and gave him a smile.

“Leonard, guess what, I’m a level three warrior.” she told him happily.

“Great, you know there are groceries outside of your apartment?”

“Yeah yeah yeah, shhh!” she waved him off.

“I only bring it up because your ice-cream is melting and it’s starting to attract wildlife. Also, a locksmith was just here and opened your door. He left a bill and left.”

“Uh-huh, yeah, do I stay in the jungle or go towards the beach?” she directed the question to Sheldon.

“It doesn’t matter, right now you’re looking for treasure.”

“Okay.” she said and saw Sheldon move away from her in the corner of her eye. “Wait, wait, where are you going?”

“You’re okay, if you run into crocodiles just kick them with your boots.”

She concentrated on the game as Sheldon and Leonard talked in the kitchen, probably about something regarding Leonard's experiment. But right now she didn't care, she was having quite the fun walking around the area and looking for loot. She saw a piece of carved wood sticking out of the ground and clicked on it to reveal a treasure chest filled with money.

“Oh my God, a treasure chest, I’m rich!” she exclaimed with her arms in the air.

She kept playing the game when she felt Sheldon sit back on the couch once again. She half-heard him and Leonard talking with each other but she was too busy playing to pay attention to them.

“Penny? PENNY!” she heard Sheldon shout.

“What?”

“It's time for you to leave. It's after midnight and I'm tired. Also, I want my laptop back. If you want to keep playing, buy the game yourself and use the login data I made for you.”

“But...”

“No buts, leave please.” he said and stood up after taking the computer away from her.

“Where's Leonard?” she asked.

“Asleep. He went to bed an hour ago.”

Surprised at how fast she had become engrossed in the game, she went over to her place to go to bed. Lying under her covers, she suddenly felt the urge to go over to the guys and get into bed with Leonard to snuggle with him. But on the other hand she knew that it wasn't fair to him to wake him up.

She fell into a restless sleep, dreaming about finding treasure and killing beasts.

* * *

The next morning, after waking up early and alone, thanks to the days before when she was awakened by her boyfriend, she went out and drove to the mall to buy the Age of Conan game. Hurrying back home, she installed the game on her own laptop and started it up, grudgingly accepting the fact that she had to pay a monthly fee to play.

She prepaid for a month and started the game, using the login information from Sheldon. Soon enough, her avatar Queen Penelope was walking around the Island of Tortage, finding more treasure chests and happily watching her in-game money amount rising steadily.

As the time went by and noon turned into evening, she did a few more quests until she got the one telling her to kill a guard captain. But despite her best efforts, she barely did any damage to the guy and died several deaths as a result.

“God dammit.” she exclaimed loudly and almost threw her laptop away after dying yet another time. “Maybe Sheldon can help.” she said to herself and got up with her laptop to go over to the guys.

“Hi!” she said loudly over the bass that was coming out of the speaker lying in front of the guys. There was a thick white substance jumping on the speakers, which was protected by a piece of foil.

“Hey, check it out, it’s just corn starch and water.” Leonard explained after seeing her questioning look.

“They make up a non-Newtonian fluid which is liquid, but solid under the percussive action of the speaker.” Sheldon clarified, but as usual, she didn't quite understand him.

“That’s what makes it get all funky.” Howard added in his usual creepy way. Had she known that he would be here, she would have worn something else than short shorts and a shirt without a bra under it.

“Yeah, okay. Listen, I need to talk to Sheldon.” she said and suddenly it got very quiet after Leonard turned off the speaker.

“No, that’s what she said, Sheldon.” Howard said confused after Raj had whispered into his hear.

“Okay, look, I bought the game, and I’ve been exploring the Island of Tortage but I can’t figure out how to get past the guard captain.” she asked Sheldon after dragging him to his desk.

“Do you have the enchanted sword?”

“No, no, I’ve a bronze dagger.”

“You can’t slay the guard captain with a bronze dagger, my Lord it’s like the car key in your apartment door all over again.”

“Alright, alright, how do I get the sword?”

“Well, have you been to the Temple of Mithra?”

“Is that the place on the hill with the weird priests in front of it?”

“No, no, no, it’s… oh for God’s sake, gimme.” he said exasperated and almost ripped the laptop out of her hand before beginning to play expertly.

“Thank you, I really appreciate this.” she said sincerely.

“You’re going to have to learn to do these things for yourself, Penny.”

“Don’t patronize me, just get the sword.” she ordered and watched him walk to the temple, getting the sword in question in record time.

“There you go, one enchanted sword.” he said proudly.

“Right, gimme, gimme, gimme, I want to kill the guard captain.” she grunted and grabbed her laptop before hurrying back into her own place.

She killed the guard captain and finally got access to more of the game. Grinning happily, she kept exploring the new areas and leveling up.

* * *

 _Would you come with us to quest in Black Castle?_ she read in her chat window. According to the player information, the guy asking her on behalf of the whole group in front of her was from Budapest in Hungary.

 _Is it doable for my level? I'm only 25 and you are all higher than me._ she replied to them.

_Sure. Easy for you. We cover you._

_Can you wait a few minutes?_

_Sure._

She got up and took the key Leonard gave her a few weeks ago. She quietly entered the guys' apartment and tiptoed towards the bedroom. She would have loved to go into Leonard's bedroom for a snuggle and maybe some sex but right now she needed the expertise of someone else.

“Sheldon.” she whispered to the sleeping physicist after opening his bedroom door but getting no reaction. _“_ Shel-don.” she said louder in a singsong voice.

“Danger, danger.” he shouted after waking and sitting up.

“No danger, look, it’s just me, Penny, look, I got to level 25 and reached Purple Lotus Swamp, right?”

“You’re in my bedroom. People can’t be in my bedroom.” he interrupted.

“Okay, well can we go talk in the living room?”

“I’m not wearing pajama bottoms.”

“Why not?” she asked, somewhat grossed out at the thought of him sleeping commando.

“I spilled grape juice.” he said as reason.

“Well, wear different pajamas.”

“I can’t wear different pajamas, these are my Monday pajamas. Penny, people cannot be in my bedroom.”

“Okay, just tell me, is it too soon to join a quest to the Black Castle?”

“You were invited on a quest to the Black Castle?” he asked while rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, by some guys in Budapest, I’m just not sure it’s the right move for my character.”

“Of course it’s not, you’re only a level 25, the Hungarians are just using you for dragon fodder.”

“Really? Boy, you’d think you could trust a horde of Hungarian barbarians.”

“Penny, why are you still wearing the same clothes?”

“Because there wasn't a reason to change clothes yet, I don't do that more than once a day if I don't have to go anywhere.”

“But it has been two days.”

“Yeah, right. So, you really think I couldn't get through the Black Castle?”

“No, you can't. You will die a quick death while the rest of your party will sneak by the dragon to the loot.”

“But...”

“Please Penny, enough, I have to sleep.”

“Okay, well you were great, thanks.” she said and left his room. As she exited and closed Sheldon's door, she saw Leonard standing right next to her. “Oh, hey Leonard, listen, don’t got in Sheldon’s room, he’s not wearing bottoms.” She gave him a quick kiss and left his apartment.

 _Okay, you guys go ahead. I got some expert advice that you just want to screw me over. Get back to me when I am at your level._ she wrote to the party in front of her and logged out.

She took a quick shower, brushed her teeth and went to bed. As she was lying on her side, her arm went to the other side of her bed where Leonard was always lying when he slept in her bed. She should have pulled him with her upon seeing him standing there. She sighed and closed her eyes. Tomorrow was Monday and since she didn't work on Mondays, she could play the game some more during the day while Leonard was at work and in the evening she could do some sexy stuff with him.

* * *

Right after waking up, Penny put on some baggy sweatpants and a sweatshirt, ate some breakfast and went directly to her laptop, starting it up and going directly into the game. Soon enough, she was back in the world of Hyboria.

“Okay you monsters, be generous with your loot, mommy needs a new set of armor.” she said to herself and started running around, looking for monsters to slay.

She ran around several areas for six hours straight, slaying everything in her path and watching her money count rising and rising. During that time, she had gained five more levels and was now a whopping 32.

“Lets see, where do I get the best equipment.” she mused and watched online for a few guides. “Interesting. The Sanctum of Burning Souls. An epic-only dungeon. That should promise great loot. Hm, can I do that alone?”

She grabbed her phone to call her game adviser. The phone rang a few times but suddenly the call was ended without ever being picked up. “What the hell?”

She dialed another phone number she googled and was rewarded with a pickup and a voice she didn't know.

“Gablehauser.”

“Hello, is Sheldon Cooper there? Can I talk to him?” she asked and after a few seconds, the familiar voice of her neighbor answered.

“Hello.”

“Hey Sheldon, I need your help with the game.”

“Penny, this is not a good time.”

“I just want to know if I have a chance in the Sanctum of Burning Souls.”

“No, I told you, you’re not prepared for the Sanctum of Burning Souls. You need to be in a group of at least five for that quest, and one should be a level 35 healer.”

“Don't you have a high level healer character? Just log on and help me. It shouldn't take long.” she said.

“Penny, I can’t log on and help you.”

“But it...”

“We’ll talk when I get home.” he interrupted and hung up the phone.

_“What the hell? Why does he keep hanging up on me?” she asked into the room and went back to her game to earn some more money. A while later, she was approached by another group of players._

__Greetings._ _

__Hi._ _ _she typed back._

__Would you like to go quest with us? We want to do some powerleveling._ _

__Sure. If you go to the Sanctum of Burning Souls with me. I need some good equipment_ _

__Once you reach level 35, we can do that_ _

__Then lets go_ _ she typed and went into battle with another group of people she didn't know. But as long as they were helping, that was fine.

* * *

"Okay, is everyone ready? The last group I was with was really unprepared and I need everyone to be at the top of their game.” Penny shouted into her headset and got a bunch of affirmatives. She hoped this was going to work, the majority of the group were Germans.

“Rogues on the flanks, healer into the back, tanks to the front. They will soak up damage while I deal the damage, keep healing us and you rogues stop the enemy from flanking us. After this fight I should level up and can wear my new weapon.” Penny ordered and started running forward to the first group of enemies.

As soon as they were in contact, the old adage that no battle plan survives the contact with the enemy came true in a painful way. While the enemy was pummeling her avatar, the healers started healing the flankers instead of her while the rogues were running too far ahead and kept her flank open for the monsters to attack her from the side. Another problem was, that the German members of the group started yelling at each other in their native tongue that Penny didn't understand.

“Guys, stay on my flanks, we need protection.” she yelled into the microphone.

“Alles nach vorne, der Gegner ist fast besiegt.”

“Heilung bitte!”

“Kaum noch Energie.”

“Protect my flank!” Penny tried to get through to them.

“Queen Penelope, du bist zu langsam!”

“No, Fritz, I need you on my flank.”

“Mach schneller!”

“I don’t know German. Flanken sie, flanken sie!”

“Hey Penny.” the voice of Leonard interrupted her, just as the fight in the game was dying down, with her decapitating one of the last ones.

“Busy.” she said, trying to get her concentration back.

“Yeah, I see that. Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I don’t work on Mondays.”

“It’s Thursday. Listen, Penny...” he started.

“Uh, Queen Penelope AFK.” she said into the microphone and looked up to him. “What?”

“Okay, um, here’s the thing, sometimes people start playing these games and they find themselves through no fault of their own, you know, kind of, addicted.”

“Yeah, get to the point, I’m about to level up here.”

“Well, it’s just... if a person doesn’t have a sense of professional achievement in their real life it’s easy to lose themselves in a virtual world where they get a false sense of accomplishment.”

“Yeah, jabber jabber jabber, okay boys, Queen Penelope’s back online.” he dismissed him.

“Penny, you’ve got cheetos in your hair.” he told her with disgust in his voice.

“Oh, thanks.” he said to him after pulling the cheeto out of her hair and eating it.

“Wow.” she could hear him say and leaving.

After finishing the instance with the Germans, she walked to another field to slay some more monsters to get more money. She needed it too since she had bought an expensive battle horse a few hours earlier and was now almost broke. And this place was amazing, since the monsters were tough and plentiful.

“Oh, a hydra, now we're talking.” she muttered and started fighting the animal. Suddenly, another character walked up to her, badly equipped and not even ready for battle.

“Hey Penny, it’s me again, Leonard.” came the voice in her headset.

“Leonard, I said not now.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m just a little concerned about you. You haven't slept in three days, skipped word and right now I'm not even sure if you see me as more than a disruptive presence in your life.”

“I said not now.” she shouted and turned her character around for a second to chop the head of Leonard's avatar.

“Fine. You know what? I won't bother you anymore. If you ever want to talk to me again, take a shower and come over, you know where I live.” she could hear his voice, the very small part of her brain that wasn't fixated on the game in front of her noticed the stab in her heart. Unfortunately, the gaming addiction Leonard mentioned won the battle easily.

* * *

After a short night on her couch, without even showering or changing clothes, Penny was back in her game, sitting on the floor with her back to the couch and numerous empty cans of red bull around her. Sheldon had come over a few minutes before and Penny hoped he would help her with her quest since she had to dump her group.

“Okay, I’m at the gate to the Treasury of the Ancients, I’m going in.” she said.

“Stay close to the wall. Avoid the mummies.”

“Got it.”

“I must say, you’re playing very well for a woman of 23?”

“22.” she corrected, somewhat wondering why that was important. “Oh, here come the mummies, which spell do I use? The hateful strike, or the frenzy stance?”

“What happened to the rest of your group?” he asked her.

“I dumped them, they’re a bunch of wussies.”

“Then frenzy stance.”

“Frenzy, frenzy, frenzy, frenzy, frenzy!” she mantra'd to herself.

“So listen, would you describe your ideal vacation as a wild adventure to unknown lands, or staying at home curled up with a good book?” he suddenly asked her.

“What?”

“These are market research questions. I’m filling out the online registration for your game.”

“Oh, then wild adventure. Oh, frenzy stance isn’t working, die you undead mummy, die!”

“Drink a healing potion.” he piped in.

“Thank you.” she said and wondered why she didn't think of that.

“You’re welcome. Anyhow, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being always initiated by him, and 5 being always initiated by you, how do you prefer your sexual encounters to begin?”

 _'What the hell?'_ “That’s on the registration?”

“Oh yes, it’s quite extensive. But if we complete it, we get a free expansion pack, 75 additional quests.”

“Ooh, awesome, okay, I totally like to initiate I’m a big old five.”

“Good to know. Big old five. Well, I need to leave now.”

“Wait, I thought we could play together.”

“Oh, you're fine. Just keep drinking your healing potions when you run low on health and pummel the enemies with your new sword.”

She watched a bit confused as he left her apartment.

A few hours later, she was frustrated beyond belief. After spending the greater part of the day fighting her way through the Treasury of the Ancients, she met the Archaic Queen Statue, which was the end boss of the instance but even after several attempts, she was unable to beat it alone. Ignoring the Treasury for the time being, she walked around to look for monsters to kill when she was approached by a group of players.

__You're a strong warrior, interested in questing with us?_ _

__Sure. s_ _ _he wrote back._ __You don't have a tank._ _

__We kind of hope we don't need one, we looked around but found none. We think we can make that up with you in front and our three spellcasters doing the damage. I'm an assassin, I deal a lot of damage._ _

__But you have barely any health. Once you aggro the monster, you're dead._ _

__Just come with us, it will work._ _

__Wait a second, I will ask an expert._ _

She got up and went towards her apartment door and found a note that had been pushed under it. She picked it up and saw Sheldon's handwriting, asking her to come over without telling her why. If she didn't need to go over anyway, she would have ignored it.

“Sheldon, what do you want?” she asked after entering the guys' apartment without knocking. She saw a stranger sitting on the couch, dressed in a nice suit with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. She didn't see Leonard standing in the kitchen area.

“Oh Penny, I see you got my note.” Sheldon replied.

“Yeah, so listen, as long as I’m here, I’m on a quest with a bunch of noobs, they don’t know what they’re doing, we’ve got one assassin, three spellcasters and no tank.”

“Can we talk about this later.” he asked her, and his eyes went to the guy on the couch. Maybe Sheldon found a boyfriend. Come to think of it, she didn't even know if he was gay or not.

“No, no, no. I need you now.”

“But wouldn’t you prefer to socialize with Tom, who is a sexually passive outdoorsman?”

 _'What does that have to with anything?'_ she thought. “Whatever, I’ll figure it out myself.” she said and left without another word. She returned to her apartment and put her headset back on, directing her attention back to the group in front of her.

 _Give me your teamspeak data. s_ he wrote and quickly received them.

“Okay boys, I couldn't get any information if that will work but we can try.” she said to the others after logging onto their server.

“Okay, maybe we get lucky.” one of them replied but she could barely understand him because one of was continuously laughing and giving sounds of disgust and he was not quiet.

“Since we got not tank...” she started but was interrupted by more loud sounds of disgust. “Seriously, what are you doing dude?” she asked the guy.

“Sorry, I'm watching the Van Wilder movie and I'm at the scene where the arrogant guys eat the buns that Wilder and his friends filled with dog sperm. It's so disgusting to watch how they almost drink the what they think is cream inside the buns and commenting how warm it is. Man, they must put some amazing powered sugar on them to mask the taste of cum. I can't imagine it tasting sweet.”

“Well, cut it out, we need to...” she began but something he said struck a cord with her.

Her mind suddenly flashed back to the night after she was at Marie's. She had had flashbacks to that night before, remembering bits and pieces but never anything really coherent. But now, she could see it clearly in her mind. Her calling Leonard. Them driving home. Him putting her to bed. And then her giving him a drunken blowjob and on top of that swallowing his spill.

“Oh my god!” she shouted reflexively. “I gave my boyfriend a drunken blowjob and swallowed.”

“Nice!”

“Did you like it?” came two voices, along with the raucous laughter of the others. Penny went beet-red with shame at having said her thoughts out loud while being heard by strangers and cursed inside. Anger rose inside her, anger at these guys who were laughing at her discomfort but primarily against Leonard for taking advantage of her like this.

“Maybe I buy you some liquor and visit you, then you can do it to me.” one of the guys said and something in her snapped.

“FUCK YOU!” she shouted and disconnected from their server, returning to the general teamspeak and using the teleport ability of her avatar to get away from the group.

She leaned back in her couch cushions and sighed deeply. She couldn't believe what she did. Telling him that she found it disgusting to even get his cum into her mouth but then she just had to swallow it in her inebriation. How could he? He was always such a great guy but then he takes advantage like that of her? What else did he do that night that she couldn't remember yet?

“Hello, fair Penny.” a familiar voice sounded in her ear. She saw a warrior avatar closing in on her.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“It is I, Sir Howard of Wolowitz. Can I interest you in an afternoon of spirited questing, followed by a flagon of ale at yon virtual tavern?”

“Yeah, sure, why not?” she replied, shrugging her shoulders and starting to walk. Then suddenly she realized who she just agreed to go on a date with. “Oh my God, I need help.” she said to herself and closed the laptop before throwing it on the couch.

She had agreed on a date with Howard Wolowitz! Even if it was only a virtual one. How messed up was she? There was only one person who could help her right now.

 **Help me please** she sent out a message with her phone.

 **What's going on?** came the reply.

**I almost went on a virtual date with Howard**

**Have fun**

Okay, that was an answer she didn't expect. She wondered why he was reacting like this. Didn't he see that she needed him right now?

**Please help me, I need you now. Come to me please.**

Instead of a reply, she heard a knock on her door, followed by the sound of her apartment door opening and close. She looked up and saw Leonard standing at her door, standing still instead of moving towards her to take her into his arms.

“If you need more help with your questing, you should ask Sheldon. Tom has already gone home.”

“No, I need help. You were right, I'm addicted to this game but I don't want to be anymore.” she whined.

“Fine. Want me to delete it?”

“Yes, please.”

She watched as he took her laptop and sat down on the other side of the couch, starting the uninstallation program to get rid of the game. She wondered again why he kept such distance between them. As she watched him work, one thing he said made her think.

“Who's Tom?” she asked.

“The guy Sheldon found for you on the dating site so you can have sex with him.”

“What? Why would he do such a thing? If I want sex, I have you.”

“Not for the last week you didn't. And he entered some information about you into a dating site and found him, showed him your picture and he came over.”

“Oh my god, so that's why he asked if I liked outdoor adventures and if I'm a one or five in terms of initiating sex.”

“Well, you're a five alright. There, the game is deinstalled.”

“Thank you.” she said sincerely and swooped over to envelop him in a hug. While her head was around his, she didn't feel his arms around her. She started kissing his neck and rubbed his back, letting her left hand wander down his stomach. She needed to get the image of her going out with Howard out of her head and having hot sex with Leonard would be the most satisfying thing to do to achieve it. But instead of him reciprocating, she felt him flinch away from her.

“Seriously Leonard, what is going on? I'm trying to seduce you here, why do you keep your distance?”

“Penny, you stink.” came the reply.

“What?”

“You stink. You smell. Your body odor makes the paint peel of the wall. Whatever you want to call it.”

“Are you serious?”

“Well, smell yourself and tell me I'm wrong.” he said.

She did as she was told and brought her clothes to her nose, taking a deep breath before recoiling in disgust. Wow, that was a strong smell, a mix of red bull and snackfood combined with days old sweat.

“Okay, you're right, I smell. But still, we haven't had sex in a week at least and after the whole Howard thing, I need my boyfriend inside me, like right now.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“I'm taking a shower first, you moron.” Penny said and pulled into her bedroom. “Get on my bed and wait for me. If you're gone when I'm done in there, you are in a heap of trouble.”

Without waiting for an answer, she went into her bathroom and closed the door. She took a look at herself in the mirror and felt disgust swell up inside her. Her hair was messed up and greasy and she looked like every bit of the bum she was feeling like right now with her baggy, unwashed clothes.

She peeled her clothes off her, wincing when her three day old underwear came off her. She stepped into her tub and let water run down her body. After soaping herself, she washed it off and proceeded to wash her hair twice. After drying herself off and putting towel on her head, she took out her razor and put shaving cream on her legs and intimate region, depilating every inch of her lower body before she repeated the process with her armpits and any other part of her body that needed it.

After finishing up, she stepped back into the tub and took another shower, soaping herself again and scrubbing every last remnant of dirt off her while keeping the towel on her head. She closed the tap and stepped back out, drying herself off again, the anticipation of the events to follow pushing delicious heat into her core. She almost shivered with the thought of his tongue running along her folds and clit while at the same time, she would use her tongue to...

 _'Oh my god.'_ she thought, remembering what had happened before Howard came along in the game. Her mind flashed back to the events after the girls night, how she had swallowed after giving him a drunken blowjob. Furious, she put a towel around her and stormed out of the bathroom, startling Leonard, who had been sitting on the bed.

“You asshole!” she shouted.

“What? What did I do?”

“You made me give you a blowjob and then swallow.”

“Huh?”

“I remember now, after the girls night, when you picked me up. You jerk. I told you I hated that stuff in my mouth and yet you still stick your cock in my mouth and make me...”

“PENNY, STOP!” he shouted, interrupting her rant. “Don't you dare put this solely one me.”

“Excuse me? Who else would I put it on, Sheldon?”

“No! But it wasn't my idea. I put you to bed, got you some of my pills and tucked you in. But before I was able to leave, you grabbed my cock, sat up and started sucking it.”

“You could have stopped me!”

“Believe me, I tried. But first of all, you were very aggressive and wouldn't let me go and second, I you were so good, I was done pretty quickly.”

“Sure, like you were unable to get away from me, if you really wanted to. Admit it, you didn't because you liked it!” she shouted.

“Well... YEAH. Of course I liked it, it felt great. The same way you like it when I lick you.” he shouted back, determined not to back down this time.

“Be that as it may, you knew that I didn't like doing it but you still took advantage of my drunken state!”

“No, I didn't! If I had, we would have had sex, like you demanded. But I backed off, BECAUSE I didn't want to take advantage of you.”

“Then why did you let me blow you?”

“Again, I never demanded or asked you for it. It was all your idea.”

“I can't believe this. I thought you were better than this.” she said and held her head in her hands.

“You know what?” he asked rhetorically and waved his hands. “There's no talking to you right now, I'm outta here.”

“Seriously? You're leaving in the middle of an argument?”

“Yes. Because despite your claims, I don't have to stand here and take this crap. I may have been unable to stop you but I did NOT demand you to blow me.”

“Screw that, you still let me do it!”

“Yes, but that was all you. And as soon as you get that into your thick head, then maybe we can talk again. Until then, good bye.” he shouted and left her bedroom.

The slam of her apartment door told her that he had left her place entirely. Muttering to herself, she walked circles in her bedroom, cursing Leonard, herself, her tendency to getting drunk, her girlfriends, everyone she could think of. After a few minutes, she looked down at herself, taking off the towel from her body and head and putting on some clean clothes.

With a heavy sigh, she sat down on her bed. What had just happened? How could the prospect of sex turn into an argument that led Leonard to storm out? And what did that mean for their relationship? The last thing she wanted was breaking up over this crap. Deciding that it was better to face the music early on, she got up and walked out of her apartment.

“Hey Sheldon.” she greeted Leonard's roommate after entering their apartment.

"Hello Penny. I see you have finally showered. Should I call back Tom so he can give you the sexual satisfaction that will help you overcome your gaming addiction?”

“What? I don't need sexual satisfaction to overcome my gaming addiction. I already deleted the game. But I need to talk to Leonard.”

“Oh, I'm sorry, he is not here.”

“What? Where is he?”

“He came in very upset and said he was taking a drive. And despite my repeated attempts to find out when he will return, he didn't tell me.”

“Okay... thanks.” she said and returned to her own apartment. She took out her phone and hit number one on her speed dial. “Come on Leonard, pick up.”

“Hello, this is Leonard, I'm currently not available, please leave a message.”

“Dammit.” she said and put her phone down. How did this happen? She finally admitted to herself that she loved him and then it was over? It couldn't be. She dialed his number again.

“Hello, this is Leonard, I'm currently not available, please leave a message.”

“Fuck.” she cursed and threw her phone down before slumping down on her bed. Suddenly she felt very tired, the days of little sleep and lots of energy drinks finally catching up with her.

She went into her bathroom to brush her teeth and changed into her pajamas. After getting into bed, she picked up her phone and tried to call Leonard again.

“Hello, this is Leonard, I'm currently not available, please leave a message.”

She ended the call and put her phone down again, pulling the comforter over her. Lying on the right side of her bed, her side, she faced the empty left side where Leonard usually slept. She stretched out her left arm and ran it over the sheet, finding it cold and uninviting. Desperately hoping that it wasn't a bad sign, she couldn't stop a tear from escaping her eyes at the thought that the man she loved might never be next to her in her bed again.

* * *

**And for once, drama ;) Will they resolve it? Won't they? You will get the answer in the next chapter :D**

**Review please :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry, this took longer than I expected. I keep having computer troubles and on Thursday it crashed and took half the chapter with it, had to write it again :(**

**Still, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.**

* * *

 

_“I'm so glad you came over and we were able to talk this out.” Penny managed to get out between kisses._

_“Me too.” Leonard replied, his lips wandering from hers to her neck and shoulders and back again, the sensation bringing goosebumps to Penny's skin._

_“I cried myself to sleep last night. I thought you had left me for good.”_

_“No, I would never leave you. I will never be able to leave you?”_

_“You mean that?” she asked, pushing him into her bedroom._

_“Of course. I love you.” he simply said and opened both their pants, letting them fall down._

_Penny separated their lips and looked incredulously at him while his hands were busy opening the buttons on her shirt. He said it! He had actually said it! She had often thought about what would happen once he said it. But now that it was actually out, she was unable to get a word out._

_As she struggled to say something, she could see the first signs of doubt in his eyes. Desperately willing her brain to get some form of sound out, her eyes moistened and a tear escaped it. Before Leonard could think that she might not reciprocate his feelings, she grabbed him behind the neck and crashed her lips to his._

_She finished what he started by letting her shirt fall to the floor and quickly opened her bra, which followed her shirt on its downward path. She ripped the shirt from his body and pushed him onto the bed, somehow managing to remove his boxers while he fell backwards. Quickly taking off her panties, she jumped onto his body and reconnected their lips, her tongue aggressively moving inside his mouth._

_“I love you too.” she finally managed to say after separating once more. “So much.”_

_She saw his face lighting up, happiness written across all over it and knew that her own expression mirrored his. While she kissed him again, she felt his manhood poking her, begging for entrance. She promptly granted this request by sitting up and sinking down on him, grabbing his hands and intertwining their fingers._

_This was a position that she loved immensely, because it gave her the opportunity to look into his eyes and had the added bonus of him filling her out completely thanks to her weight pressing down on him. She started grinding slowly, wanting to savor the feeling of his manhood moving along her inner walls, again setting her nerve endings on fire._

_Despite her desire to go slow to enjoy the feeling as long as possible, her need for him made her speed up involuntarily. She started bouncing up and down, giving him a show of her breasts moving, something he told her was an unbelievable turn-on for him. Him moving his hips up and down to meet her thrusts didn't help her keep it slow either._

_It wasn't long before she screamed out her first orgasm of the night. She wanted to ride it out, twitching on his manhood but he had other ideas. He pulled her down to kiss her and kept thrusting his hips, prolonging and intensifying her climax._

_“I love you Leonard. Please never leave me again.” she said, before sitting up again._

_“I won't. Never. I love you too much.” he replied and grabbed her hips._

_She took the hint and started moving again. This time, she bent her body forward and grabbed the headboard of her bed, giving her more leverage. She ground wildly on him, moaning with every move, occasionally twitching in a sort of mini-orgasm. His breathing was still steady below his own groans, showing her that the sex this time could last a while, something she had absolutely nothing against._

_“Penny, move faster please.” Leonard said._

_“But I want to feel you inside me for a long time.”_

_“You will, later. This night isn't over by a long shot. I want to take you in every position possible and come inside you doing it. But right now I want to see and feel you ride me hard, I want to see your face contorted in pleasure as you climax.”_

_His promise made her resistance crumble away and she did as he asked. She put her hands flat on his chest and sped up, screaming in pleasure as another orgasm rushed through her. The rational part of her brain was again amazed at how easy it seemed to be for him to make her come, even when she did all the work._

_Or maybe it was because they were in love. As she moved on top of him, grinding her way to more and more climaxes, a small part of her brain reminisced about the time they had known each other. After their first night in that hotel, she knew it was different than any other guy she ever was with. She never had cuddled or kissed for thirty minutes after a one-night-stand with a guy she just met, yet with Leonard she did._

_Even with Kurt, although the sex had been great, it had always lacked that special something that made sex more than great, the one thing that made it amazing. And now she knew. Love. That special emotional bond that tied two people together like nothing else. That bond she thought at the time she had with Kurt but now knew that it had only been a sham, now that she knew the real deal._

_More thoughts were pushed aside as new sensations rushed through her after Leonard put his hands on her breasts and softly squeezed them, almost reverently caressing them. She bent down again, giving him the opportunity to take one of her nipples into her mouth, gently sucking on it and nipping it with his teeth._

_She sat back up again and ran her hands along his arms until they reached his. She intertwined their fingers again and in that position continued to ride him hard. She could hear and feel the bedframe ramming against the wall and knew she might get another earful from her neighbors downstairs but right now she couldn't care less. She was making passionate and fulfilling love with her boyfriend and if the neighbors felt disturbed by her screams and the rhythmic hammering, it's their fault._

_Penny sped up even more, the sweet friction making her climax again. As she screamed out her pleasure, she could hear a sharp crack but before she could open her eyes to look what that was, the world tilted sideways and both she and Leonard fell to the floor._

* * *

 

Penny opened her eyes and found herself lying on the floor next to her bed. Her legs and one arm were caught in her covers, the hand attached to that arm firmly lodged under her pajama shorts between her legs.

_'It was only a dream.'_ she thought and felt fresh tears forming in her eyes when she realized that Leonard might be out of her life forever if they didn't fix this. But what a dream that was! So vivid. She remembered that Leonard told her that he loved her and she had said it back before they made the most passionate love Penny could have imagined. And true to her predictions, their dream counterparts had broken her bed.

She went into her bathroom and took a quick shower before brushing her teeth. After returning to her bedroom, she got dressed and went into her living room. She needed to get to Leonard and talk to him, and fast. On her way out, he checked her messages and saw one from Cheryl.

**Hey, just wanted to ask if you are interested in getting together. We haven't chatted in a while and me and Kim wanted to make a peace little offer for the whole Leonard thing.**

Penny was about to answer when she saw the time. It was after noon! Damn, she needed to set her alarm clock more often, sleeping half the Sunday away wasn't a great way to enjoy a weekend. She went out into the hallway and knocked at her hopefully still boyfriend's apartment but instead of him opening the door, his whacky roommate did it.

“Hello Penny.” Sheldon greeted her.

“Hey Sheldon. I need to talk to Leonard, is he here?”

“No, I'm sorry, he already left.”

“Left? Where did he go?”

“Instead of spending his Sunday having vintage game night with his best friend and roommate, he decides that he would rather go to San Francisco to a private research facility that offered him the use of their free-electron laser for his X-ray diffraction experiment. Can you believe that?”

“Actually, I can.” she replied, thinking about so many things she would rather do than spend a Sunday with Sheldon. Like castrating a lion. Or baiting alligators for fun.

“The thing is, the university already has a free-electron laser. So he didn't really have to rush to San Francisco, city of hippies, just because our laser is in constant use by other labs. Leonard should just wait for his turn.”

_'I probably know why he went here. He's avoiding me.'_ Penny thought sadly and sighed.

“You know Penny.” Sheldon started, interrupting her thoughts. “Since you moved in, your presence has changed Leonard's behavior in ways I'm not in agreement with.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Well, all this time he spends at your place, talking the time away until he falls asleep on your couch? That's not good for his body. He always walks funny when he returns the next day.”

_'Oh sweetie, if you knew why he is walking funny after not sleeping on my couch.'_ “If he wants to spend time with me rather than with you, that is his choice. You don't own him.”

“You don't understand.” he replied. “It took me years to train him. And now that he's finally an acceptable roommate, you come along.”

“You know what? I'm leaving. I don't have to stand here and get insulted by you.”

“Who's insulting? I'm just stating facts.”

“Whatever. Bye.” she said and turned to go.

“Penny, wait.” Sheldon stopped her. “Would you like to have dinner with us tomorrow?”

“Uh, let me get this straight. You insult me and then invite me to dinner?”

“Again, I was just stating facts. And I hope you can convince him to spend more time with me instead of you.”

“I most certainly won't do that. But dinner sounds fine. What are you having?”

“Tomorrow is Monday so we're eating Chinese food. We eat at six. What menu would you like?”

“I'll take an order of dumplings. See you then.”

Penny left and went back into her apartment. She collapsed on the couch and sighed deeply. This whole thing had gone completely out of hand and all that because if a blowjob. She still was disappointed in him for letting her do that, knowing that she hated the feeling of his spill in her mouth. Remembering, she picked up her phone to answer Cheryl.

**Actually, a get-together sounds nice. I certainly need the distraction.** she wrote. An answer didn't take long.

**Why? Trouble in paradise? Are the bushes of romance burning? ;)**

**Yeah. The fire is coming closer and I can't find the hose. :(**

**That sounds ominous. We thought about meeting at six.**

**I'll be there.**

Penny put her phone down and grabbed her dirty clothes from around the apartment. No reason to just sit around doing nothing and waiting for the time to go by when she could do something productive, even if it was just laundry.

* * *

 

“Hey Cheryl.”

“Hey girl, come on in.” Cheryl greeted her and Penny walked into her apartment.

“Hey Kim.” Penny greeted her other friend, who was sitting on the couch.

Penny went to the armchair and slumped down, the weight of her problems pressing down on her. She accepted a glass of wine from Cheryl but before she could down it in one gulp, she remembered the last time she got drunk with those two and took only a small sip.

“Thanks.”

“So Penny, what's going on?” Kim asked.

“I think I need some relationship advice.”

“Okay.” Cheryl said.

“Well, me and Leonard are having a rough patch right now.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Well, um... I can't really say. It's personal and really embarrassing. He did something that goes against my principles.”

“If you want our advice for your situation, we need to know what exactly happened.” Cheryl said.

“Ugh, fine. God, I can't believe I'm about to tell you this.” Penny sighed.

“Come on, spit it out.” Kim interjected.

“Remember the night at Marie's?” Penny asked and the other girls nodded. “Well, I got Leonard to pick me up.”

“We remember. We were still there when he showed up and you threw yourself at him.”

“Yeah. I was pretty out of it and couldn't remember anything coherent that happened, just bits and pieces. And last week, I became addicted to an online game, couldn't stop playing it for days.”

“Oh yeah, we were wondering why you didn't show up for work almost the entire week.”

“Yeah. Well, on Saturday, a virtual almost-date with Howard Wolowitz snapped me out of it. Also, before that happened, I was on a TeamSpeak with several guys and one of them was watching the Van Wilder movie...”

“Oh my god, I think I know where this is going.” Cheryl interrupted laughing.

“Shut up. Anyway, this led to the return of most of my memories from that night. After Leonard drove me home, he put me to bed and tucked me in. I tried to get him to have sex with me but he refused.”

“And that's why you are mad at him?” Kim asked.

“No. Before he could leave, I... um... well... I grabbed his manhood, took it out and started... you know...”

“Sucking it?” Cheryl said, grinning like a cat.

“Yes.” Penny replied, beet red from shame.

“Okay, I still don't get what he did wrong, we know for a fact from the videos, that you suck it quite often.” Kim interjected.

“Ugh, please don't bring up the videos. It's not the sucking part, it's the fact that I made him come inside my mouth.”

“Okay, and?”

“And I swallowed.”

“And?” Cheryl asked.

“What do you mean “and”? I said numerous times that I hate that stuff in my mouth and when I did it on his birthday, it was meant as an exception.”

“So, basically you're not mad at Leonard for making you do it, you're mad at him for letting you do something that NO GUY IN THE WORLD would stop you from doing?”

“Um... yeah.”

“Ah, here's a question. Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you mad at him for letting you do something that you seemed to enjoy?”

“What? I told you I don't enjoy that.”

“You keep saying that. Yet in your inebriated state, where you usually tell truths, you did it and seemed to enjoy it if you didn't spit his spill out, like you did on his birthday.”

“What? No!” Penny shouted.

“Hell yes!” Cheryl shouted back.

“I never liked it. I hated it when Kurt made me do it and I never swallowed I. And I never did it with him willingly even when I was drunk.”

“Penny, do you love Leonard?” Kim asked.

“Yes.” Penny replied after short pause.

“There's your answer.”

“I don't understand.”

“Penny.” Cheryl sighed. “You already established that you never really loved Kurt. But we think that you truly love Leonard. And as such, you enjoy doing things with and to him that you usually don't like to do with anyone else.”

“But...”

“No buts, Penny. You need to admit to yourself that you liked doing that with Leonard. And when you finally come to grips with that, you need to apologize to him. Because if you don't and your relationship comes to an end, it gives me and Kim the chance of getting to him.” Cheryl said and winked.

“Na-uh. You will not get him.”

“Just think about one thing. If the roles were reversed and you picked up a drunk Leonard and he would grab you, rip your pants off and starting to lick you roughly, would you stop him?” Cheryl asked and was met by silence. “I thought so.”

“One more thing.” Kim piped in. “In my opinion, you enjoy making him come like that, even if you hate that stuff in your mouth. I think you are just mad because you didn't spit it out. Tell me, after you did it on your birthday, were you disgusted with yourself or were you pleased that you were able to get him to come just with your mouth?”

“I... uh... okay, I was quite pleased with myself.”

“You see? So your displeasure with him is probably not because you gave him a blowjob but because you swallowed. If you had had the presence of mind to spit it out, the whole thing wouldn't surely have gone out of hand like this.”

“Wow, I never really looked at it that way.” Penny admitted.

“So, anymore embarrassing stuff you did with him?” Cheryl suddenly asked.

“Oh my god, she did something.” Kim piped up. “Look how much she is blushing.”

“Shut up!” Penny said and took another sip of her wine.

“Come on, spill it out. You know we won't stop pestering you.”

“Pfff. Fine. When I got into his car after he picked me up, I told him we could have anal sex when I have my period.”

“Oh my god.” Kim and Cheryl said in unison and laughed hard while Penny blushed even more.

“Well, if you do it carefully the first time, you will like it.” Cheryl said.

“Wait, you did it already?” Penny asked.

“Of course. It's not everybody's cup of tea, so to speak but I actually find it quite nice, truth be told. If it's done careful of course, especially the first time. Otherwise it can be very painful.”

“Man, I can't believe I'm saying this but, tell me more.” Penny said and refilled her glass.

As she questioned both girls about more information, she also pondered what she just learned. Could it be that she actually liked blowing a guy to the end? Or was it just because it was Leonard? She did love him. And the whole anal thing? Where did that come from? Neither she nor Leonard had ever showed any inkling of doing it. But what she did know was that she needed to get Leonard alone to talk this whole thing out. 

* * *

 

After spending several more hours with the two girls, Penny had again reneged on her promise to not get drunk. It wasn't as bad as before but she still needed some help to get up the stairs. Luckily, Kim's sister had come home and was willing to bring her home.

After getting to bed, she dreamed again of Leonard but this time the dream wasn't centered on sex. She saw herself sitting on a veranda with him, watching two beautiful children running around in a yard, playing with a middle-sized dog and each other. Looking back into the house, she saw her Oscar standing on a shelf next to Leonard's framed Nobel prize.

After waking up, she thought back about the images she saw, especially the tranquility of it. Down the line, this was exactly what she wanted. A successful acting career and more importantly, a loving family. Even if her kids couldn't eat yogurt or drink milk or ride Space Mountain before the age of fourteen.

After spending her Monday off reading magazines and watching TV, doing anything to pass the time until dinner. She hoped that she would get the opportunity to talk to Leonard. But it would depend on how he reacted towards her when they saw each other again.

As six p.m came closer, Penny went into her bedroom to pick the clothes she wanted to wear. She wanted something that showed Leonard what she could give him and was also easy to take off should the need arise.

She chose red panties and a matching bra, a blue shirt with thin straps and low neckline that revealed her cleavage and a long skirt with a flower motif which was easy to take off. She went out of her apartment and after taking a deep breath, knocked on 4A with a shaking fist.

“Oh, hello Penny.” she was greeted by Howard who let her in.

“Hey.” she greeted back and gave a hopeful smile to Leonard who was standing in the kitchen area, getting silverware for the food containers that were standing on the coffee table. She could see the hurt in his eyes and almost broke into tears upon seeing him like this. She pursed her lips to show him that they were still in a relationship and sat down in Sheldon's spot, Howard sitting down next to her as Leonard came over and starting sorting out the food.

“Let’s see, Raj was the Kung Pao Chicken.” Leonard said, checking the bill.

“I’m the dumplings.” Penny piped in and was handed her container.

“Yes, you are.” Howard added in his usual manner.

“Creepy, Howard.” she told him.

“Creepy good or creepy bad?”

“Creepy doesn't have two sides, Howard.” she said.

“Who was the Shrimp with lobster sauce?” Leonard interrupted.

“That would be me. Come to poppa, you un-kosher delight. I’m not necessarily talking to the food.” Howard said, directing the last sentence to Penny.

“Sit over there.” she ordered, pointing at the wooden chair on the opposite side of the table. Howard slowly got up and went over there, just as the door opened and Sheldon walked in, holding a box of wet wipes and a bottle.

“Sit over there.” he ordered her and she thought it better to comply instead of getting into an argument. “Baby wipe?”

“Why do you have….” she started to ask but Howard and Leonard simultaneously interrupted her with sounds of exasperation.

“I’ll tell you why.” Sheldon said to more sounds of defeat from the other two men. “I had to sanitize my hands because the university replaced the paper towels in the rest rooms with hot air blowers.”

“I thought the blowers were more sanitary.” she said and caused more outbursts of desperation from the other two.

“Hot air blowers are incubators and spewers of bacteria and pestilence. Frankly it would be more hygienic if they just had a plague infested gibbon sneeze my hands dry.” he replied and Penny put down her fork, suddenly having lost her appetite. As she tried to get it back, Raj entered excitedly.

“Hey guys, I just got the most amazing newwww…” he started but ended in a high pitched sound when he saw Penny.

“Gosh, Raj, do you think you’ll ever be able to talk in front of me without being drunk?” she asked and the Indian shook his head. “Okay. Well, I’ll just go eat by myself.”

“Penny, you don’t have to do that.” Leonard spoke up and it warmed her heart to no end that he didn't want her to go.

“No, it’s okay, between him not talking, him talking and… him, I’m better off alone.” she said, pointing first to Raj, then Sheldon and then Howard. She got up and went to give Raj a quick hug and soft kiss on the cheek. “Goodbye you poor strange little man.”

She returned into her apartment and sat down on her couch, eating her dumplings. She looked at her door and sighed again. _'Come on Leonard, knock and enter. Come to me please.'_ she tried to communicate to him telepathically. But he never came. She turned the TV back on and watched some more, waiting for her boyfriend to knock. If he came over, the relationship would be rekindled passionately tonight.

She had decided to forgive him. After thinking about the things Kim and Cheryl told her, she had unfortunately come to the conclusion that Leonard indeed wasn't completely at fault. Cheryl was right, there was no man in the world who would say no, if a woman threw herself at him like that. Well, maybe Sheldon would.

And she was also right about the reversed roles. If a drunk Leonard would start to lick her, she would do everything she could to keep her legs spread apart. But she would never stop him, he was too good at it for that. After two more hours of waiting without Leonard coming over, she got up and went to bed. Maybe tomorrow she'd have more luck after coming home from her evening shift. 

* * *

 

Since she had nothing to do without her neighbors being home, Penny spent the morning in bed, sleeping the time away. After getting up, she ate a light lunch and had her customary cup of coffee that she didn't even have to steal from the guys' apartment.

After driving to work, she started her shift with her usual lack of enthusiasm. This day, like almost all days without satisfying morning sex, she couldn't bring herself to smile genuinely at the customers and unfortunately they picked up on it which was reflected in her tips.

“So, any progress on the boyfriend front?” the voice of Cheryl made her turn around as she was waiting next to the bar for the people at her table to finish.

“No, I had to leave yesterday before the dinner got started. His friend Raj came home with some apparently exciting news but he can't speak when I'm around so...” she said and punctuated the end with a shrug. “Hey, is that Charlie Sheen?” she asked with wide eyes and pointed to a guy sitting at one of the tables for two.

“That Raj a strange man for sure. And yes, that is Charlie Sheen.” Cheryl said. “Oh, it would seem that you have another chance with Leonard.”

“Why?” Penny asked and Cheryl pointed at the entrance. Penny looked and saw Leonard and the other three walking into the restaurant, sitting down at a round table.

“Hey guys.” she greeted them as soon as they had sat down.

“Hey Penny.” Leonard replied with the others while Raj only waved.

“Here are some menus.” she said and handed them four folded pieces of paper. “Want something to drink?”

“I'll take an ice tea.” Leonard said.

“Me too.” Sheldon added.

“Just water for me.” Howard stated and Raj whispered into his ear. “Raj would like to order a grasshopper.”

Penny went to the bar and filled their glasses, waiting for the barkeeper to mix the grasshopper. She watched as Raj excitedly talked while the others looked both bored and exasperated. Whatever Raj was saying was going on the others nerves.

“Here you go.” she said and handed out the glasses.

“Guess what Penny, I'm going to be in People Magazine.” Raj proudly stated after taking a big gulp of his drink.

“Good for you Raj, congratulations.”

“Thank you. It is entirely justified. And I take another grasshopper.” he ordered and drained his glass to a quarter.

Penny went back to the bar and gave the barkeeper the new order, watching the guys some more as she waited for the drink to be mixed. Her eyes were mostly fixated on Leonard, watching his facial expression and moving lips when he gave one-word-answers to several inquiries Sheldon made. After getting the new drink, she went back to the table just as Raj downed the rest of his first.

“Here you go, Raj, you might want to drink this one slowly.”

“Okay, so, Saturday night, can I count on my posse?” Raj asked the guys.

“Gee, I’d love to Raj, but I can’t make it.” Howard replied.

“Oh, okay, Leonard?”

“Well, uh, no I… the… no.” Leonard flatly said and Penny was a little surprised at his behavior. Whatever Raj wanted them to do must be something really bad.

“Sheldon?” the Indian inquired.

“I can make it, but I won’t.” Sheldon replied in his usual blunt fashion.

“What are you guys talking about?” Penny piped in.

“Well, there’s a reception for my magazine article tomorrow.”

“And you guys aren’t going? I can’t believe you, Raj is celebrating a tremendous accomplishment and you’re not even going to be there to support him?”

“A tremendous accomplishment would be if the planetary body he discovered were plummeting toward Earth and he exploded it with his mind.” Sheldon interjected.

“That would be cool. I’d go to that reception.” Howard said.

“Come on, this is huge, Raj is going to be in People magazine. And he didn’t even have to knock up one of the Spears sisters.” Penny stated.

“Would you like to go with me?” Raj asked her which took her by surprised.

_'Damn, I shouldn't have opened up my mouth.'_ she thought. “Of course I would, I would be honored.” she said instead of lying but her heart broke a little when she saw Leonard's face at her answer.

“Really? Cool. I'll pick you up at six.”

“Okay, I'll be ready.” she replied and quickly left. She went to the bar and put her head into her hands, wondering why she had agreed. She had originally planned to clear things with Leonard and then spend hours with him in bed. She looked at the guys again and saw all of them, except for Raj, leaving before Raj said something to Charlie Sheen. Whatever the actor answered must have been dismissive, because Raj looked subdued after it. 

* * *

 

Twenty-four hours later, Penny stood in front of her mirror, checking her dress. She made sure to pick one that wouldn't give Raj any ideas, so she chose a black thigh-length dress with a black jacket over it. She didn't show any obvious cleavage and the lower part didn't hug her figure. Her hair was made and make-up finished.

A few minutes after six, she heard a loud hammering at her door, as if someone was kicking it. She looked through the peep hole and saw Raj.

“Oh, Raj, look at you.” she commented his attire after opening the door.

“I know, I am resplendent like the noonday sun, am I not?”

“Um, yeah, starting with the champagne a little early aren’t you?”

“It was in the limo. They sent a limo. I have a limo. I just love saying limo. Here, sip on this while you’re getting ready.”

“Oh, I’m ready.”

“That’s what you’re wearing.” he said disapprovingly.

“Um, yeah, why what’s wrong with it?” she asked, looking down at her dress.

“Nothing, I was just hoping for something a little more, you know, redonkulous.”

_'Boy, one glass of champagne and he's already completely obnoxious. Please let this evening be over quickly.'_ “Yeah, well, this is all the donkulous you’re gonna get.”

“Okey dokey, let’s roll. Alright, it’s time to raise the roof. Oo-ooh, oo-ooh.” he danced behind her as she moved towards the stairs. Just as she was about to turn the corner, Leonard came home, his bag around his shoulder.

“Hey Leonard.” she greeted him with a smile.

“Hey.” he replied, looking again sad. “You look very nice.”

“Thank you.” she said at the same time as Raj.

“Uh, come on Raj, lets get this over with. Good night Leonard.” she said and pulled Raj towards the stairs.

“Good night.”

“Hey, Leonard, did you see my limo downstairs?” Raj asked him.

“Yeah.” Leonard replied and Penny could see his exasperation.

“It’s bigger than the house my grandfather grew up in.”

“Terrific.”

“It has more food too.” Raj went on.

“Alright, come on, come on.” Penny interjected, pulling Raj away.

Penny went downstairs, Raj in tow and out of the building to find a limousine waiting for them, the driver standing next to it. The man held the door open for them to get in and Penny sat down in one on the backseat, facing the driving direction while Raj sat down right next to her. She scuttled to the other side pf the seat, trying to put some distance between them.

“Okay, lets go.” Raj shouted and picked up another champagne flute. As the limousine lurched into motion, Raj scooted closer to Penny and put his left hand on her right leg, starting to rub it. She shot him an incredulous look and slapped his hand away.

“Ow. What was that for?” he asked her.

“No touching! And stop drinking so much, you're obnoxious enough already.”

“Come on, you know this evening will lead to some horizontal huppla.”

“Oh, it so isn't.”

After a mercifully short ride, she got out and into the building, waiting for Raj so she would be let in. Inside were about forty people, eating and drinking, laughing and some even dancing.

“Hello, I'm Cindy.” a middle-aged woman greeted them.

“Penny.” Penny introduced herself. “I'm here with Raj.”

“Yeah, she's my new squeeze.” the Indian proudly stated.

“I'm so not.” Penny clarified and saw Cindy's knowing look. After a hint, she went with the woman to the back of the room.

“Is he always this obnoxious?” Cindy asked her out of earshot from everyone else. “He hit on me, and I'm a married woman.”

“Only when he's drinking. But if he's not drinking, she can't speak to women. Don't ask, it's some mental thing.” Penny said after seeing her questioning look.

“And you still agreed to come here with him?”

“Unfortunately yes. He asked me and I agreed before thinking about it, especially since I basically slapped my boyfriend in the face with it.”

“What?”

“Um, long story. Don't tell him about that.”

“I won't. And if he keeps that up, the evening won't last long anyway.” Cindy said and pointed to Raj, who was attempting to flirt with one of the other female guests.

Before Raj could embarrass himself further, the host, who introduced himself as Mister Miller, called the guests attention and started the presentation of Raj's work and his person. _'At least that guy does the talking.'_ Penny thought while she saw Raj standing next to the host, smiling smugly.

“And now for a few words from our guest of honor.” Miller said and stepped aside to let Raj take his place at the microphone.

“I want to thank you all for this honor.” the Indian started. “I want you know that this is entirely deserving. I am the Indira Ghandi of Astrophysics baby. Only with a penis. Oooh Oooh. So adore me, you inferior masses!” he proclaimed, taking another sip from yet another champagne glass.

Penny held her hand over her face in both shock and shame at his behavior. She knew that his character turned to Mister Hyde when he drank but this was the worst she had seen so far. She hoped that nobody was aware that she was with him. If it became known, she might just have to leave quickly with a cab.

Luckily, Raj's speech was cut short by the host, who probably had enough as well of his behavior. He ushered him from the stage and thanked everyone for coming before releasing them back to the buffet tables. Penny went to one and got another glass of champagne. Just as she was about to knock it back, Cindy came back to her.

“Wow, that was... something.” she said.

“Yeah. Horrible.” Penny replied and drank some more.

“And still you came here with him.” Cindy grinned.

“Shut up. I might leave earlier than I expected.” Penny replied, emptying her glass.

Cindy excused herself to talk to the host and Penny grabbed a new glass of champagne. She walked around a bit to see if she knew anybody else here and saw Raj talking to four other young men. She saw him wave and motion for to come over and after walking the short distance, she stood next to him.

“Penny, these are the guys. Guys, this is Penny. She's my squeeze for the night and will look good on my mattress.” Raj said and grabbed her ass.

“Okay, that's enough.” Penny almost shouted and ripped his hand away from her body. “I'm outta here.”

She stormed off and towards the exit, giving a small wave to Cindy, who just shook her head in understanding. Raj didn't seem the slightest bit unfazed and calmly gave his champagne flute to one of the guys.

“Alright, my date can't wait to get to my home, so I'm out!” he shouted into the room and followed her.

Outside, she climbed into the backseat of one of the parked cabs but before she could tell the driver to go, Raj followed her into the vehicle. Penny wanted to yell at him to get out but Raj beat her to it and gave the driver his address and the car started moving. Thinking that it was better not to make a scene, she just accepted the fact and hoped that the driver didn't make any detours.

Luckily he didn't and strangely enough, Raj stayed quiet the entire drive. She looked at him and saw his facial expression turn into one she was familiar with. Seems he got sick when being driven drunk. She scooted farther away from him in case he needed to hurl but before she could contemplate the thought of his stomach contents on her dress, the cab stopped.

“Penny, can you help me get inside?” Raj asked her with puppy dog eyes.

“Fine.” she replied and got out of the car and around it. “Don't go anywhere, that won't take long.” she directed at the driver who nodded.

She took Raj's arm and he put it around her shoulder, leaning on her as they walked into the building and up the stairs to his floor. He started singing some song she didn't know, horribly off key. After Raj managed to get his keys and the door open, she pushed him inside and was pulled with him by his arm still around her shoulders.

“Welcome to the Raj Mahal.” he said and threw his keys into the room.

“Yes, it’s very nice, goodnight Raj.” she replied and turned to leave.

“No, wait, the evening’s not over. It’s time to put on some R. Kelly and suck face.”

“Oh, wow, is the evening over.” she said and then heard a ringing sound.

“Wait, wait, that’s my mummy and daddy calling from India. I want you to meet my parents.” he proclaimed and ran to the back of the room, grabbing his laptop.

“Wait, meet them?” she asked confused.

“Hello mummy and daddy, good to see you. I’m not drunk.” Raj said to his parents after taking a deep breath and accepting the call.

“Why would you say that?” his mother asked him.

“Just making conversation. Mummy, daddy, I want you to meet my new squeeze, Penny.”

“I am not your squeeze. There is no squeezing.” she clarified.

“I can’t see her, centre her in the frame.” his father said.

“Here you go, cute huh?” Raj said after centering the camera lens on Penny.

“She’s not Indian.” his mother stated.

“So, she’s not Indian, the boy’s just sowing some wild oats.” his father added.

“No, no, there’s no sowing, no squeezing, and no sucking face.” Penny tried to explain.

“What if he gets her pregnant. Is this little hotsy-totsy who you want as the mother of your grandchildren.” his mother said to her husband.

_'Boy, now I know where Raj gets his obnoxious streak.'_ Penny thought.

“What right do you have to pick who I can have children with?” Raj asked.

“Look, Rajesh.” his father started. “I understand, you’re in America, you want to try the local cuisine. But trust me, you don’t want it for a steady diet.”

“Now you listen to me.” Raj countered. “I am no longer a child, and I will not be spoken to like one. Now if you’d excuse me, I have to go throw up.”

“What’s wrong with him?” his mother asked.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s the local cuisine.” Penny answered, holding the laptop. “Okay, well, it’s nice to meet you, just gonna set you on down over here, and I’m going to leave so, Namaste.”

She turned around and left, closing the door behind her. But instead of walking she stopped and thought about his parents. Did they realize that they are quite racist in their attitude about their possible daughter-in-law not being Indian? Also, she wasn't a hotsy-totsy! She turned around again and opened Raj's door, entering his apartment.

“And FYI, you’d be lucky to have me as a daughter-in-law.” she said to his parents, who were still online. After that she quickly left and got back into the cab to finally go home.

* * *

 

After the cab had dropped her off, she went up the stairs and for pondered a few seconds about knocking at her neighbors apartment. She wanted to talk to Leonard but if he wasn't home and Sheldon was, he would probably rope her into some dialog she didn't want to have with him.

She went into her place and quickly undressed, putting the dress and jacket away. She poured water into her electric kettle and started it for a cup of tea later. She then went into her bathroom and discarded her underwear before taking a quick shower.

After finishing it, she dried herself off and donned her robe, without putting on any underwear. She would be wearing her pajamas in a few minutes anyway, so there was no need. She poured the boiling water into a cup and took a tea bag, letting it stand for a few minutes too cool off and for the tea to infuse the water. Looking at the clock, she noticed that it wasn't even nine o'clock yet but since the reception didn't last long, it wasn't really a surprise.

As she stood in her living room, sipping from her cup, she noticed a piece of paper moving under her door. With a smile she remembered the last time something like that happened. Back then, she had opened the door to her now boyfriend, telling him he did nothing wrong before having sex later the day after getting him to stay while the others went out to get tools and materials.

This time however, it wasn't Leonard. After opening the door, she found Raj fumbling around with the paper, now dressed again in his usual attire of undershirt, dress shirt, sweater vest and jacket. How he wasn't sweating like a pig when dressed like that on hot days was beyond her.

“Raj, what are you doing?” she asked as he stood up. He held the note in his hands out to her.

“Is the alcohol already out of your system?” she asked while he kept trying to hand her the piece of paper.

“No. No notes. If you have something to say to me, say it.” she ordered.

“Sorry.” he squealed in a high pitched voice after struggling for a long time.

“Oh, sweetie, it’s okay.” she said and hugged him. She returned back inside and while closing the door, she heard Leonard's door open. She looked through her peephole and watched as Leonard stood in his doorway, looking at Raj who in turn lifted both his thumbs. Penny couldn't see it but she was sure that Raj was smiling.

How would this look to Leonard? If she were seeing Leslie Winkle coming out of Leonard's apartment and him hugging her and then she gives her two thumbs up after Leonard was back in his apartment, she would probably think that those two just had sex and she was about to leave. Before any doubts could fester in Leonard, she opened her door and stepped back out.

“Okay. Raj, stop acting as if something happened between us. You were a horrible date and if you ever want to have success with a woman, you better learn how to handle alcohol. And now you better go before I smack you upside the head!” she shouted and was rewarded with the Indian quickly running away.

“And you!” she directed at Leonard. “Get in here right now and sit down!”

“But I...” he started to say.

“NOW!”

Leonard wisely didn't argue and hurried into her apartment. She went in behind him and closed the door just as he sat down on her couch. She looked at him and saw his apprehensive and still somewhat hurt look and decided that they would fix their issue right here and now before it got even more out of hand.

“Penny, I...”

“Shut up. I need to talk first.” she interrupted and sat down next to him. “I need to ask you a question and I want you to be honest, alright, no sugarcoating?”

“Okay, I can do that. But can we agree to stay calm and not get into a shouting match again?”

“Yes, we can do that. Okay, here it is. After I did... you know, what I did... did you like it when I swallowed?” she asked and hoped the answer was no.

“Since we're telling the honest truth, I must tell you that I... couldn't care less.”

“What?” she asked, shocked. That was the answer she expected the least.

“I really, really enjoyed you blowing me. I mean, really enjoying it. Like, shouting-my-happiness-from-the-rooftop enjoying.”

“So, if I ever did it again, even drunk, you wouldn't stop me?”

“Probably not, it felt too good. You are very adept at it. And as I said, I don't care what you would do with my spill, swallow it, spit it on the carpet, into a bucket or even on me if there's no other place for it to go.”

“Wow, when you're honest, you really are honest.” she said.

“I mean, if I have the choice, I would rather climax inside you, preferably after twenty to thirty minutes of hard and relentless pounding, no matter who's on top, since... you know... you feel so unbelievably good inside.”

“Okay...wow.” Penny said, after taking a deep breath. All his talk of pounding her hard and relentless for half an hour had really turned her on, especially given the fact that they hadn't had sex in a week.

“Listen, Penny...”

“No, wait. Let me say it first. I'm sorry that I yelled at you and wanted you to take all the blame. I know now that you did what any man would do. You were even better, since you at least put up some resistance.”

“Okay. And I'm sorry, that I didn't try harder to stop you.”

She grabbed his hands and pulled him closer, connecting her lips to his in a tentative kiss. To her joy, he deepened the kiss, his hands going behind her head and around her waist to pull her closer. She took the hint and swung her legs around, climbing into his lap and putting her arms behind his neck.

Their tongues played with each other, not fighting for dominance at all but being equal partners in exploration. Almost by reflex, Penny started grinding on him and felt his manhood stiffen in his pants. He stopped the kiss after she started moaning into his mouth.

“I missed this.” he said and lets his arms run up and down her neck.

“Me too.” she replied. “Listen, there's one more thing I need to ask you... Leonard, are you listening to me?” she asked, a little louder because his gaze was fixated on her chest. She looked down and saw that her robe had opened a bit and was showing parts of her naked breasts.

“What? Oh yeah. Sorry, was a little distracted.” he said.

“Don't worry, if you want, you can play with them in a few minutes. But listen, I remembered something else about what happened after the girls night.”

“Okay?”

“Um... I made a suggestion to you when I got into your car... you know, about...”

“I remember. You suggested the use of your backdoor when the front is under maintenance.”

“Really? You know, you can say it, you don't need to go to these metaphors.”

“Sorry. What about it?”

“Um... what do you think about that?”

“Well, actually, it's something I never considered. And truth be told, I doubt that it's hygienic, considering what comes out of there. Why? Do you want to?”

“Well, I don't know. I mean, I wouldn't have made a suggestion like this if I was totally against it, even if it's only subconsciously. But, I also never thought about it.” she said.

“Okay, lets agree on this. If it ever comes up and we both feel comfortable with it, we can try it. But I promise you, I will never ever demand that.”

“Okay.” she said and resumed kissing him. They continued doing that for several minutes with her having resumed her grinding motion on him. He was as hard as he could be under her, hard enough for her to feel him pulsating even with his pants between them. “Leonard? Will you make love to me?”

“Yes, my lady, I will.” he answered grinning and she got up, pulling him with her into her bedroom.

“Get naked and on the bed.” she ordered and watched him as he got out of his clothes in record time, jumping into bed and lying down on his back.

Penny went to her nightstand and put her phone in place, activating the recorder. She then moved to the foot of her bed and watched him. His erection was hard and upright, waiting for her to use it. She undid the knot of the cord around her robe and slowly opened her robe. She grinned when she saw his eyes grow large at her naked body as she dropped the robe behind her and climbed slowly into her bed.

She had intended to crawl forward and ride him but apparently he had other ideas. Before she could take his manhood and sink down on it, he sat up and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her forward and around so she was on her back and he on top. He pushed her arms above her head and held them both down with one hand while his other grabbed between them and guided his tip to her entrance.

He pushed in slowly and his hand returned to hers. She remembered this position from the B&B, right after they had agreed to start dating. This was making love, pure and simple. Their fingers intertwined, he slowly pushed in and out, savoring the feeling of her insides while her legs were closed around his waist, pushing him closer to her.

All the while their lips stayed connected, their tongues playing with each other and only separating for a short time when deep breaths became a necessity. But even then their tongues stayed in contact. God, how she had missed this. This intimate connection. The closeness of the act that she had never felt with Kurt or any other guy before him.

Penny was almost surprised when she suddenly climaxed with a lour squeal into his mouth. Usually that only happened when he moved quickly inside her, but now it had happened even in this slow motion. A single tear of happiness rolled out her left eye. Today made it abundantly clear. She never wanted Leonard to be out of her life ever again. She needed him, almost like a drug. Even if sex wasn't an option, knowing that he was there for her was enough. Although she would never say no to sex.

She stretched out her legs and used her left one to swing them around. The sudden movement was a surprise for Leonard and made it easy for her for lack of resistance. She happily noticed that despite the move, he still was inside her. She sat up and felt him get even deeper into her and moaned loudly as his tip scraped over her g-spot.

She tilted her head back and used her hands to shake out her hair, a move that made her breasts perk up, a view that Leonard loved.

“My god, you are so beautiful.” he sighed and grabbed her breasts, softly caressing them.

“Mmh, keep doing that.” she said and started moving again, slowly going back and forth. The slow speed made it even more sensual than usual, and Penny felt content, among other things. She opened her eyes and looked at Leonard, seeing his eyes glued to her breasts and grinned.

“Do you like how my breasts move?” she asked with a smile.

“So very much.” he replied.

“Then let me give you a show.”

She swatted his hands away and started bouncing up and down, softly at first. Her breasts moved with her, swinging up and down and Penny thanked her mother for the genes that gave her such a well-formed rack. The feeling of pleasure got more intense with the faster speed and soon Penny found herself bouncing hard, a loud slap accompanying every downward move.

“Oh god.” Penny shouted as she felt the coil tightening and stopped the bouncing in favor of the forward-backward movement. Her fingernails dug into his chest as she rode him hard, the hammering of the bedframe against the wall witness to their carnal activity.

She screamed as she came hard, her movement getting erratic as she tried to ride out her second climax. Before she could finish that, Leonard turned them around again and suddenly pounded her hard, his hands holding her knees down next to her head. She could hear in his breathing that he was about to come but she was surprised when he suddenly pulled out and spilled on her stomach and chest.

He collapsed next to her and got his breathing under control with surprising speed. He got up and grabbed some paper towels, giving them to her so she could wipe off his spill from her body.

“Why didn't you come inside me? I thought you liked that.” she asked while she finished cleaning herself, handing him the paper towels so he could throw them away.

“I do. But I want to do more with and to you. Basically, we owe each other a week of orgams.” he winked.

“Oh, so I assume this night isn't over yet?” she asked.

“If you want, I can leave. Or I can climb back into your bed and pleasure you some more.”

“Let me think about that a bit while I spread my legs.” she grinned and put action to her words.

He smiled back and climbed into the bed, connecting his mouth to her clit. She hissed at the contact and started moaning as his tongue slowly ran over her labia and clit, alternating the whole procedure with sucking on it. She grabbed his head and pushed him harder onto her, the feeling way to good to be caused by another human being.

She didn't know how long he had been doing it but she didn't care as her hips bucked upwards and she once more groaned in orgasmic bliss. She was unable to ride it out without rolling her lower body left and right, taking his head with her. One particular hard roll managed to turn them around again, making Penny sit on his face.

Without even breaking stride, she kept moving back and forth, the pleasure center inside her brain under double assault from his tongue running over her labia and her clit grinding over his nose as she moved on him. Another climax made her body collapse backwards while it twitched, severing their connection but Leonard just pulled her a bit closer, connecting his tongue to her vagina again.

She felt his manhood touching her shoulders and realized that he must have licked her for at least twenty to thirty minutes for him to be ready again. Grinning, she sat up again and climbed off him, swinging her other leg over him before pushing back on his mouth. As his tongue continued its magic inside her, she lowered her upper body and took his manhood into her mouth, the hissing emanating from him showing her his appreciation.

Cheryl had been right, she loved to have this kind of control over him but she took great care to go slowly so he wouldn't climax too soon. She badly wanted, no, needed him inside her again, even after receiving half a dozen orgasms already.

“Penny, stop!” Leonard said loudly and she immediately complied. She knew the only reason for his command was his impending climax and he didn't want that as much as she did.

He pushed her off him and sat up. She watched with anticipation for his next move and giggled when he pushed her onto her stomach and pressed her flat on the bed. She knew what was coming and giggled again when she felt him get off the bed and go through her special drawer before climbing back on.

“Want this to last?” she playfully asked him as she watched him put the rubber band on.

“Yes.” he simply replied and got behind her.

“Then by all means Doctor Hofstadter.” she said seductively. “Do me hard.”

“As you wish.” he replied and her eyes rolled back into her head when he pushed in deep and immediately hit her g-spot. Holy crap, this was going to be good.

* * *

 

**And I finish here. Don't worry, the next chapter will continue where this left off but I needed the introduction for my take on the episode ;) Hope you had fun ^^**

**Review please :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Here's another chapter for you. Hope you like it :)**

**ATTENTION: There is more smut than usual in this one. For those of you not comfortable with it, don't read it!!**

**And for the rest, enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.**

 

* * *

 

“Oh my god! Oh god! I'm coming Leonard! OH GOD!” Penny screamed into her pillow as another orgasm rushed through her.

After seeing each other in the hallway and her driving away Raj, he had come over and they had resolved their differences after which she had pulled him into her bedroom. After getting naked, they had proceeded to slowly make love like they had when they became steady.

He had climaxed on her instead of inside her before he proceeded to orally pleasure her for quite some time. After a while of him doing that, she had switched her position, giving him pleasure hopefully as good as he gave her until he had donned the rubber band and then entered her in her most favorite position, the one that enabled him to constantly stimulate her g-spot.

Now his hands were pressed on hers, their fingers intertwined and by doing that he was unwittingly holding her down, making her unable to use her arms and forcing her to just take it as long as he was able to last. And taking it she did. She had been coming hard several times now and he never once gave her the chance to ride it out, instead he had always increased his speed while she had been climaxing.

Her current orgasm was the same. As soon as she shouted it out, he sped up, pounding her harder and harder, both prolonging the orgasm and increasing its intensity. She was breathing hard, the pleasure coursing through her almost too much to bear and sometimes, when he pushed in, it felt almost like pain for a fleeting moment so short, she might have imagined it.

What he was doing to her tonight was out of this world. And while usually she welcomed him doing her hard like that, giving her orgasm after orgasm, the whole thing carried an undertone of desperation with it that she couldn't quite place. Maybe it was as an attempt to make up for their whole almost-breakup but they had talked that out before. She would have to ask him when they were done, if she was able to speak a coherent sentence afterwards.

Her thought process was interrupted by another orgasm, intense enough for her to bite into her pillow again, giving the already abused pillow case a new scar that showed anyone who would see it, what kind of punishment it had to endure. But to her mind, if that was the cost of having mind-blowing sex, she would gladly bite chunks out of her mattress if that was what it took.

Suddenly, Leonard pulled out for a few seconds before entering her again and after less than a minute, he climaxed with a loud groan, followed by the now familiar collapse onto her back. A small part of her pleasure-riddled mind knew that he did his short pull-out to take the rubber band off before finishing inside her.

“That was...” Penny started but was unable to finish, the endorphins still coursing through her brain. “Leonard, I...” _'love you.'_ “I...” _'love you. Dammit, why can't I say it out loud? What is wrong with me.”_

“I missed you too.” Leonard said.

_'That's not what I was gonna say. I want to say that I...'_ “missed you too.” she said instead, cursing her cowardice. Why was she so afraid of actually saying it? She felt it, deep in her heart. She knew it, she admitted it to herself and to her friends. Why can't she say it to the one person who she wanted it to hear?

“Come on, lets get cleaned up.” Leonard said after a few minutes of silently lying on the bed.

He got up and pulled her up with him. Penny's legs almost collapsed when she first tried to stand on them, a testament of how long and hard Leonard had just pleasured her.

“Are you okay?” he asked concerned, having noticed her difficulties.

“Yeah. Just a short lapse of strength. Your fault.”

“What? My fault?”

“Yes, you did me so hard and good, I'm all weak.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. And today, I'll even allow you that smug smile.” she said with a grin.

They did their cleanup routine of a shared shower followed by each brushing their teeth. After Penny was finished, Leonard more or less pushed her out of her bathroom so he could use her toilet. That was one thing she kept shaking her head about. They see each other naked quite often and both have ran their tongue over every inch of the others body but still Leonard insisted on being alone when using the bathroom.

But that was a think Penny had no problem overlooking. She took her phone and deactivated the recorder before getting back into the bed and pulled the comforter over her naked body, turning on her left side, her back facing the bathroom door. She heard Leonard coming out and immediately getting into bed behind her, his body soon pressed against hers. His left arm slipped under her neck, preventing her head from cutting off the blood supply to his extremity while his right arm went around her hips, hand on her lower stomach.

She brought her right hand to his left, intertwining their fingers. With his back pressed to his body, she felt so much content, it was almost frightening. She never wanted to leave this bed again, it felt so good.

“Leonard?” she asked without turning around.

“Yeah?” he replied, placing feather-light kisses on her neck and shoulders.

“Don't take this the wrong way but why did you do me that hard? With the rubber band, no less.”

“Oh, you didn't like it?”

“Don't be silly, of course I did.” she said and elbowed him lightly. “If we could do this for hours, I would want it.”

“Not a good idea, chafing down there isn't nice.”

“Can we get back to my question? I get the feeling that there is more behind this than to make up for a week without.”

“You're right. I wanted to give both you and myself a night to remember.”

“Why?”

“Because for the next few weeks, we probably won't be able to spend a night together.”

“What? Why?” she asked, turning her head towards him.

“Tomorrow I will go to work in the morning but I won't be home until the next. I have me regular schedule but then I begin an experiment with a free-electron laser.”

“Oh, Sheldon mentioned something like that. You went to San Francisco yesterday for that.”

“Yes. And while there I got confirmation that my experiment could yield great results. But to use the CalTech laser, I had to agree to use it only at night because it's booked by other labs during the day for months to come.”

“Okay... but why are so sure we won't be able to get together? What about weekends.”

“From Tuesday on I get to work at four in the afternoon, drink a cup of coffee and then start working at the lab at five after the others are out of there. Then I pretty much work fourteen hours straight until seven in the morning, hand over the lab to the guys who use it during the day and I'll probably be home around eight. Then I go to bed, sleep until two or three before going to work again. And that includes weekends. Maybe I can take off one or two but I pretty much have to work every day.”

“That sounds grueling.”

“It is. Especially since I can't do much else when the laser is running, which it will most of the time.”

“We could videochat or phone during those downtimes, as long as I'm awake.” she smiled and kissed him softly.

“That's just it, we can't. When the laser is active, it creates so much electrostatic energy that any unprotected device will be fried. So I can't use either laptop or phone. The only thing for me to do is either read or doing equations.”

“That sounds... boring.”

“Well, yeah but I like doing equations.” he said grinning.

“Of course you do. But too bad about not being able to do video chat, I could have sat naked in front of the camera.” she grinned back.

“You're a mean tease, you know that?”

“You like it.”

“On that note, we could go to sleep. Busy day tomorrow, at least for me.”

“Hey, I work too. I might just be walking around a lot, but it can be stressful.”

“I never said it wasn't.”

“But you thought it.”

“Good night Penny.” Leonard said and kissed her on the cheek.

“Yeah yeah. We will talk about that later. Good night, sweetie.”

A few minutes later, Penny was fast asleep.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, she woke up again from someone squeezing her chest. She realized that it was still night outside. Leonard's left arm, which had been stretched out under her before, was angled up and his hand was caressing her right breast while his right hand was still stationary on her stomach. She could hear him moan lightly and felt his nightly erection poking her from behind.

“What are you dreaming, my love?” she whispered into the room and enjoyed his ministrations on her chest. Even in his sleep, he was tender.

She opened her legs a fraction and his manhood snapped upwards into the now open space until it hit her center, eliciting a soft moan from her, more from surprise than arousal. But it still felt good. She started moving lightly so she wouldn't wake him. As she was feeling him as she moved along on him, she felt herself getting aroused and moist.

_'Boy, had mind-blowing sex already with lots of orgasms and I still get horny again a few hours later. Something must be wrong with me. Or very right.'_ she thought while continuing to move.

She did her best to keep moving slow and also to stay quiet but the sensations were too much and soon she was moaning softly, the same way Leonard was doing it in his dream. His hand was still softly squeezing her breast and this double sensation was something Penny highly enjoyed.

Then an idea began to form in her mind. Not caring if he woke up or not, she grabbed between her legs and guided his manhood to her center, pushing herself backwards to he would enter her. When he was in half-way she couldn't push back any further without waking him so she stayed in this position for a few seconds, not daring to move.

When she was confident that Leonard was still sleeping, she started contracting and releasing her inner muscles, again and again. She had read about something like this once and thought it would never work but after doing it herself, she had to revise her opinion. She combined her efforts with moving her hips, pushing them backwards and thus taking him into her before she contracted her muscles and kept them like that as she pushed her hips forward again.

She had to admit, it was an amazing feeling. She repeated this process numerous times, feeling the tingles of a building orgasm but she knew that she wasn't climaxing soon with this slow speed.

“Oh god!” she had to shout when Leonard suddenly pushed in to the hilt and holding it there. “Leonard, how long have you been awake?”

“Three minutes or so. I must say, you make a man feel amazing.” he replied, still somewhat sleepy.

“Thanks. But now you can do some of the work.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes!”

“Fine.” Leonard said and grabbed her right leg, lifting it up and holding it at the inside of her knee. He started thrusting, always pushing in to the hilt before pulling almost completely out. After a few thrusts, he had the distance measured and upped the pace, giving Penny that amazing feeling of him moving inside her.

As an added bonus, his left arm, that was still under, her kept her from sliding up when he pushed in, enhancing the whole experience even further. Since both were still very sensitive after their previous lovemaking, it took less than ten minutes for Penny to squeak out her orgasm, quickly followed by Leonard.

“That was amazing, Leonard.” she said quietly and opened the drawer on her nightstand, taking out a roll of paper towels for them to clean up.

“Yes it was. I kinda like those nights when you're insatiable like this.”

“Of course you do.”

“Feel free to wake me anytime you feel the urge.” he said grinning.

“Sweetie, if I had waken you every time I had felt the urge, as you put it, you wouldn't have had a full nights sleep in months.”

“That's something to look forward to.” he said. “Good night Penny.”

“Good night Leonard.” she replied and gave him one last kiss before falling asleep again.

 

* * *

 

After waking up again, she realized two things. One, it was daylight outside already. And two, she was alone. Looking at her watch, she saw that it was already past nine, so Leonard was probably at work. She sat up and grabbed her phone, feeling a little hurt that he just left like that.

**When did you leave? s** he texted her boyfriend.

**At seven. Wanted to head back before Sheldon awoke**

**Why? Didn't we agree that him finding out was okay?**

**Sure. But it wasn't because of that. Sheldon would have badgered me for not notifying him 24 hours in advance before spending the night somewhere else**

**You're kidding, right?**

**I wish I was...**

**Your roommate is one serious whackadoodle**

**Yep**

**Why didn't you wake me in the morning? We could have had some morning sex ;)**

**I tried. To wake you at least. But you mumbled something that sounded either like “Have fun at work” or “Shut up and give me the blanket”. Btw, I made you some coffee and breakfast. I put it into a thermos flask in the kitchen and a bowl of fruit salad into the fridge.**

**That's so sweet. Thank you**

**You're welcome. But I have to go now, need to finalize some preparations for my nightly experiments**

**I need to go to work soon anyway. Have fun sweetie**

**You too**

Penny put her phone down and got out of bed. She undressed and stood in front of her mirror, looking at her body. She saw fingermarks on her and a hickey on her inner thigh. She got all hot again when she thought back to what he did with his tongue after giving her that hickey.

She went into the bathroom and took a quick shower after her ablutions before brushing her teeth. She put on underwear and some sweats and went into the kitchen, finding the flask Leonard had made for her and grabbing the bowl of fruit salad from the fridge. Another of those things why she loved him. Kurt had never made breakfast for her, not once in four years.

She sat down on her couch and leaned back, taking a deep breath and eating her breakfast. She felt a delicious ache between her legs, a testament of the things he did to her last night. If anyone a few years back had told her that she would meet a bespectacled, asthmatic physicist who barely reached her height and that man would become the love of her life and be able to give her the most mind-blowing sex she had ever had, she would have laughed at the notion.

But now, after knowing each other for more than a year and being together for almost six months, she couldn't imagine not being with him. She needed to find a way to either tell him that she loved him or somehow make him say it first, so she could say it back. She still was furious about her inability to actually say it when it comes to her head, especially since she's able to admit it to her friends.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by her phone. She checked it and saw her go-to-work alarm and realized that she had again sat on her couch for more than an hour, thinking basically about Leonard. She drank the rest of her now cold coffee and quickly changed into her work uniform before leaving for work.

 

* * *

 

“Hey girl.” a cheery voice greeted her when Penny reached the employees room.

“Hey Cheryl.” Penny greeted her again-friend.

“Wow, you must have had a great night. You're glowing like a light bulb.”

“Shut up.” Penny said, trying to sound serious, but the smile that wouldn't leave her face making the effort futile.

“I take it, the reconciliation went well?” Cheryl asked.

“You could say that.” Penny replied.

“Want to get together again tonight? That is, if you're not busy, “reconciling”.

“Actually, I'd love to. Leonard has an experiment overnight, so I'm pretty much free.”

“Great. We're meeting after work at my place again.”

Cheryl left the room and as Penny tried to leave it as well, she collided with another one of her colleagues and both tumbled to the ground. Penny was about to blow a gasket but refrained, realizing that she was partially at fault as well. She marveled at her restraint. A year ago she would have been shouting by now. _'Must be Leonard's influence.'_ she thought and smiled as she got up. She offered her hand to her colleague and saw that it was the other blond working here.

“Hey. Sorry about that. You're Bernadette, right?” Penny asked.

“Right. Sorry.” Bernadette replied and walked away, leaving Penny quite dumbstruck at the coldness or disinterest of the young woman. She shrugged and went out into the restaurant, notebook in hand.

 

* * *

 

“There you are.” Kim said and let Penny into Cheryl's apartment.

“Hello to you too.” Penny said to her and walked into the living room where Cheryl was already sitting on the couch.

“Now that everybody is here, how was work today?”

“Boring!” Cheryl started. “Tips were lousy, customers tedious.”

“I thought it was kind of nice today, time flew by.” Penny said.

“Easy for you to say, you got amazing tips. Mark my words, if you keep that up, I WILL go to Leonard and have morning sex with him too.”

“Over my dead body. And who says I had morning sex?”

“Didn't you?”

“No. Just three times last night, an hour combined. Although the third time was around three in the morning, it could be counted as morning sex.” Penny said and leaned back smiling.

“Pennyyyyyyyy.” Cheryl whined. “Stop teasing us like this, it's not funny anymore.”

“Who's teasing? I just stating facts.” Penny said, poking out her tongue.

“Did you record it again?” Kim asked Penny felt the blush creeping up her face. “Ah, I see by the coloring of your face that you did.”

“Shut up. And don't even ask if you can see it.”

“How about a trade?” Cheryl suggested.

“Excuse me? What could you possible offer me in exchange for a sex video? I already said I don't want to see any that you may or may not have made.”

“No, not that. I thought of offering you the use of my red dress for a month.” Cheryl said and that statement made Penny's ears perk up.

“Really? The cute red one with the spaghetti straps and plunging neckline that would look so awesome on me?”

“The same one.”

Penny was torn. She always wanted a dress like that but was never able to find just the right one. One she had seen one of those dresses but its price made a purchase more or less impossible, considering her situation.

“I don't know...” she started to say.

“Two months.” Cheryl interrupted.

Penny cringed. She was having a hard time thinking of things that would make a deal like that a bad thing. She tried to imagine Leonard giving her a stern look and talking to after learning of the fact that she once again was showing her friends what they are doing at night but as much as she tried to find the word NO in her head, it was made impossible when the Leonard in her mind got a longing look after seeing her in that red dress.

“God, I hate myself.” Penny said. “Three months and you swear to whatever or whoever you want that you never ever mention any of it to Leonard.”

“Deal.”

“Ugh, I'll sent it to you.” Penny said, got out her phone and sent the video file to Cheryl's. “Why am I so weak?”

“Because deep down you want to show us this video and bask in our envy.” Kim said smiling.

“Can we change the topic please? I need your help.” Penny said.

“With what?”

“I can't tell Leonard that I love him. I mean, I want to but I find myself physically impossible to do it.”

“What? How do you mean?”

“Well, I tried to do it last night, after our second round. I tried twice to tell but was only able to finish the sentence in my head. Then he said that he missed me too and I settled on that. What is wrong with me?”

“Nothing. You're afraid to get hurt.” Cheryl said.

“But I know in my heart that Leonard would never hurt me on purpose.”

“That may be. But just think how often you said to Kurt that you love him. And I don't know if he said it back but even if he did, he still cheated on you. So you are understandably wary about putting yourself out like that again without knowing exactly that he both reciprocates your feelings and not cheat on you.”

“Well, if there's one thing I can say about Leonard, he most likely won't be cheating on me. He barely realizes when another woman is hitting on him.”

“Really?” Kim asked.

“Yeah. At that B&B we went to, the receptionist could barely hide her interest, checking him out in front of me. Leslie Winkle told him directly that she wanted sex.”

“Hm, maybe we should just tell him we want him to do us for a night.” Cheryl said.

“Again, over my dead body.” Penny sing-songed.

“Just kidding. We're really happy for you. At least one of us has found love, even if she isn't able to express it in words.”

“That still sucks.” Penny said.

“Why not write it down and show him the paper?”

“I'd rather say it out loud.”

“But maybe, if you showed it in writing, he'll say it and then you can say it back.”

“Okay, I will think about it.”

 

* * *

 

Six hours later, Penny was home again. It had been a fun evening, at least until they were adamant about watching the video she gave them with her still there, on Cheryl's big screen TV no less, as if she would give them a running commentary. While they watched and hooted, Penny didn't know if she should feel embarrassment or smugness at their reactions.

What she did know she was feeling was arousal after seeing herself in long and hard action with Leonard. She thought about knocking on his door and pulling him into her apartment when she remembered that he was at work. Cursing, she went into her bedroom, undressing and then putting on the dress she borrowed from Cheryl.

She almost broke down in tears upon seeing herself. It was such a beautiful piece of fabric and without underwear, it made her breasts stand out amazingly, the low cut of the back even going down far enough to almost show her butt. She took out her camera, snapped several pictures of himself and, with a smile, sent them all to Leonard before going into the bathroom for a shower. After coming back out, she saw a reply from him.

**Holy crap, when did you get that dress? It looks amazing**

**I know right? Borrowed it from Cheryl. I was hoping we could go somewhere while I'm wearing it**

**Okay, but only if you wear a bra. I have no problem showing the world that I have a girlfriend with an amazing body but I'd rather have you not flash them as soon as you go down stairs**

**Too bad. I wasn't wearing any underwear at all when I took the pictures ;)**

**Please don't torture me :(**

**Don't worry. My torture will come with the rubber band and handcuffs :-p**

**You're mean -.-**

**By the way, how can you write back? I thought phones don't work where you are**

**I'm outside the lab, taking a coffee break. I'm here since eight in the morning. 14 hours done, 9 more to go :-/**

**My poor sweetie**

**Okay, I have to get back. See you soon, hopefully. Sleep well :-x**

**If I dream of you, I will sleep very well :-xxx**

Penny put the phone down and climbed into bed. Sighing at the sight of an empty right side, she closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

She was awakened by the persistent sound of a regular three-knocks combination followed by her name. She checked her watch and saw that it was just after eight in the morning.

“Ugh, I'm gonna punch him in the throat. There's only one person who is allowed to wake me before ten.” Penny mumbled to herself and opened the door. “Sheldon, what is it?”

“Leonard’s asleep.” the lanky physicist replied.

_'Huh? I was asleep too two minutes ago.'_ “Thanks for the update.” she said and began close the door.

“No, wait. You have to drive me to work.” he interrupted.

“Yeah, uh, I really don’t think I do.”

“But I don’t drive, and I can’t take the bus.”

“Yeah, honey, you’ll be fine as long as you don’t do that bungee cord thing, okay?”

“Penny. Didn’t you recently state that you and I are friends?”

_'Oh god.'_ “Yes, Sheldon, we are friends.”

“Then I hereby invoke what I’m given to understand is an integral part of the implied covenant of friendship.” he said and must have seen her confused look. “The favor.”

“Oh, dear God.” she said and lowered her head.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was interrupting your morning prayers. When you’re done, we’ll go.”

_“Just stop talking, I'll get dressed.”_

_Penny activated the coffee machine and threw on her pink sweatpants and jacket. After waiting for her coffee to be done, she put it into a travel mug and went outside, going wordlessly down the stairs, Sheldon following behind her. She unlocked her car and got in, starting to drive even before Sheldon had closed the passenger door._

_She had hoped to do the drive in silence but of course Sheldon being Sheldon, that wasn't an option._

“Thank you for driving me to work.”

“You know this is my day off, Sheldon.”

“Oh, good. I’m not keeping you from anything.” he said, again not understanding sarcasm. “Your check engine light is on.”

“Mm-hmm.” she hummed. That thing had been on for a while now.

“Typically that’s an indicator. To, you know, check your engine.”

“It’s fine, it’s been on for, like, a month.”

“Well, actually, that would be all the more reason to, you know, check your engine.”

“Sheldon, it’s fine.”

“If it were fine, the light wouldn’t be on. That’s why the manufacturer installed that light, to let you know it’s not fine.”

“Uh, maybe the light’s broken.”

“Is there a “check the check engine light light”?” _he asked while Penny took a sip of her coffee, which was followed by a loud_ Oh from Sheldon.

“What?” she asked, turning to him.

“Studies have shown that performing tasks such as eating, talking on a cell phone or drinking coffee while driving reduces one’s reaction time by the same factor as an ounce of alcohol.”

“Do you have any alcohol?” she asked. Otherwise she might go crazy with him in the car. How Leonard was able to do this every day was beyond her. Maybe this whole experiment thing was just a scam to get out of driving Sheldon.

“Of course not.”

“Too bad.”

“You’re going up Euclid Avenue?” he asked, as if that was something totally strange. “Leonard takes Los Robles Avenue.”

“Well, good for Leonard.” she replied.

“Euclid Avenue is shorter as the crow flies, but it has speed bumps, which appreciably increase point-to-point drive time, making it the less efficient choice. But you have the conn.” he said just as she went over one of the aforementioned bumps without even breaking. “Of course, if you’re not going to slow down for the speed bumps, I withdraw my previous objection. Here’s a fun question. Do you know what the most common street name is?”

“No.” _'God, doesn't he ever shut up?'_

“The answer’s tricky. It’s Second Street. You see, you’d think it would be First Street, but in most towns, First Street eventually gets renamed to something else, you know, like Main Street, Broad Street, Michigan Avenue. Leonard and I often use our commute time to exercise our minds  with brain-teasers like that. We also play games. Would you like to play one?”

“No.” she said. _'Seriously, this is like the complete opposite of sex. At least when I'm riding Leonard or he is doing me from behind, I get to say Yes Yes, but here it's all No No, and he doesn't get it.'_

“Oh, come on, it’s fun.” he stated as she went over another bump, much to his dismay. “Okay. I’ll say an element, and uh, you say an element whose name starts with the last letter of the one I said, okay? I’ll start. Helium. Now, you could say Mercury. That would give me a Y. Oh, very clever, that’s a tough one. So I go Ytterbium, which gets you back to M. So you go Molybdenum, and I say Magnesium, you say Manganese, and I say Europium, and, and you’re left with Mendelevium, and there are no more M’s because I believe that Meitnerium should still be called Ekairidium, so congratulations, you win. Do you wanna go again?”

“How about we just have a little quiet time now?” she asked, hoping he would finally get the hint.

“All right. Hmm, huh, I’m sorry, I’m finding your reckless nonchalance regarding the check-engine light to be very troubling.”

_'Okay, that's it.'_ she thought and stopped the car. “Get out.”

“Well, I have to tell you that while I do have a theoretical understanding of the workings of an internal combustion engine, I’m not sure I’m capable of performing diagnostics.”

“I said, get out!” she said again, a little more forceful this time.

“Okay. I’ll give it a shot.” he replied and got our of the car. As soon as he had closed the door, Penny floored the car and drove off again. Her warm bed was calling loudly to her.

After making the return drive in record time, stopping at a bakery on the way, she jumped out of the car and got up the stairs again. Standing on the fourth floor landing, she was about to back into her apartment when a thought hit her. Smiling to herself, she opened her door, put the pastry bag on the living room table, got the emergency key and went into Leonard's apartment. She tiptoed into his bedroom and found him sleeping soundly. Still smiling, she took off her top and attempted to take off her pants but in the process, bumped her left foot into his nightstand.

“Penny?” Leonard said sleepily and put on his glasses. “What are you doing here?”

“I just had to bring Sheldon to work and I thought I keep sleeping here. Are you okay with that?”

“Am I okay with that? Seeing you in those shorts and that shirt with no bra under it? Get in here!”

Penny looked down at herself and saw her nipples poking through the white shirt she was wearing. Grinning she lifted it up to just below her breasts and got into his bed, pressing her back against his body. His hand went around her body and under her shirt to rest on her left breast. Letting out a satisfied hum, she closed her eyes and with the man she loved holding her, soon fell into a restful sleep.

 

* * *

 

This time, she was awakened by a soft squeezing of her butt and her name softly spoken into her ear. She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with Leonard, realizing that she must have turned around in her sleep. His left hand was currently busy caressing her left butt cheek, his right under his head.

“Someone is in a happy mood.” she said, seeing his wide grin.

“Well, waking up in my bed next to a beautiful woman, without my roommate in the apartment to disturb us...”

“Oh, do you have something special on your mind?” she asked grinning.

“No, why would you think that?”

“Hm, with what your hand is doing, combined with your little buddy down there poking me, begging to be set free...”

“What... did... I... tell...you... about... the... word... little?” he asked, punctuating every word with a kiss.

“Hm, I think you said that you liked it.” she said smiling.

“I think you have offended him.” he stated mockingly.

“Really? And what should I do to remedy that?” she replied in the same fake mocking manner.

“I think he wants you to kiss him better.”

“Oh, so that's how you are playing it?”

“Who's playing? I just say what he would like.”

“You and your code speak.” she said and sat up, sliding down his bed until she reached his groin. She pulled his shorts down to his knees and took his already hard manhood into her hands, giving the tip a quick kiss. “Ok, is he happy again?”

“Not quite, I think he needs some more kisses to feel better.”

Grinning, she took him in completely, sinking her head down to the base, making him hiss in pleasure at the sudden sensation. She pressed her lips together and slowly lifted her head again, releasing him with a loud plop.

“Is he all good now?”

“I think if you repeat that a few times, he will be.” he panted, while she kept stroking him with her hand.

“And how many times do you think it will take?”

“I don't know, a few dozen?”

“A few dozen? Someone's needy now.”

“Well, if you do that, he might be willing to come knocking on your front door for a visit.”

“Oh, that's quite the offer. I will accept your proposition then.” she said and repeated her actions from before.

For the next five minutes, the only sounds in the room were his groaning and the slurping sounds that came with the movement of her head. 'Cheryl was right. I so much love doing that for him.' she thought and felt his hips thrust upwards, which showed her that he was almost on the verge of climaxing.

She released him again, not wanting him to be done too soon. She pulled his shorts off completely and scooted up his body, planting her lips on his, her tongue begging for entrance which was promptly granted. His hands went back down her back, playing with the waistband of her pajama shorts. His fingers went under it, teasing the elastic but never doing anything more.

He used his hands to guide her movements, making her more or less dry hump him thanks to the separating effect of the fabric between them. The suddenly, his right hand shot downwards, directly to her center, rubbing her fiercely. She squealed into his mouth as he moved his fingers rapidly on her nub, making her come hard after less than a minute.

“You're so mean.” she panted and sat up.

“Really? I was under the impression that you liked that.”

“Now you need to do some kissing to make it feel better.”

“Really? I few kisses I can do.”

“Do you really think that will do?” she said and stood up. He kept his hands on her shorts pulling them down as she rose on the bed. When she was standing, she lifted her feet in turn so he could throw her shorts on the floor.

She looked down at him and saw his hungry look. Grinning, she used her fingers to spread her labia, showing him her nub in all its glory.

“See? She wants you to kiss her better.”

“Well, who am I to deny her that.”

She stepped forwards and bend her legs, sinking down until she was almost on him. He pressed a soft kiss against her center, eliciting a hiss from her but didn't go any further.

“Leonard? I don't think that's enough.”

“Really? And what should I do about that?”

Instead of answering, she sunk down completely. She could feel his grin as his tongue did once again magic to her center. She tried to look down but was unable to open her eyes from all the endorphins running through her system. It took him only four minutes to make her climax, making her again wonder how he was able to do that.

She got off him and slid down his body again until she felt his manhood against her center. Without any more words, she took it and guided him inside her. She put her weight behind it and sunk down completely, enjoying the feeling it caused. Putting her hands into his, she started to move gently, her eyes fluttering.

“Penny? Sheldon's not home.” Leonard said and Penny didn't need any more encouragement. She opened her eyes to look at him and released his hands, putting her own on his chest. Seeing his expectant look, she grinned devilish at him and suddenly started to ride him hard, her movements strong and fast.

His bed rocked into the wall, the hammering making it sound as if construction was going on but she didn't care. Although the last time they had sex was only twelve hours ago, she had been missing him tremendously and her need was almost all-consuming. Almost by surprise, she was climaxing hard, collapsing on his chest. He grabbed her hips and thrust upwards, prolonging it again until he climaxed as well with a grunt. She kept twitching for two minutes after coming down from her high and during that time, their lips never separated.

“Wow. Doing this after waking up is a great way to start the day.” Leonard said and kissed her neck.

“I agree. Seriously, we need to move in together so we can have that every morning.” she said and her eyes went wide at that suggestion. __'Where did that come from?'_ _

“What?”

“I'm kidding.” __'Am I?'_ _ “Hey, you want to have breakfast at my place? I got something from the bakery after taking Sheldon to work.”

“Sure. Lets get cleaned up first though.”

They took a shower together and Leonard brushed his teeth as Penny put her clothes back on and left his apartment to brush her own teeth at her place. Soon enough, Leonard entered her apartment as well and put on some coffee. He came into her bedroom and leaned against the door frame, watching her getting dressed.

“Like what you see?” she asked as she put her bra on.

“So much.” he replied.

Penny finished dressing, putting on long denim pants and a blue top with a cotton jacket over it. She spent an hour leisurely cuddling with Leonard on the couch, sharing her food and coffee and fooling around some more.

“Okay, I need to get to work.” Leonard said suddenly and pushed her off him before getting up.

“What already?”

“It's after four. So, yeah.”

“Too bad.”

Both went to her door and before Leonard stepped out, he turned around and took Penny into her arms. He connected his lips to hers, and she gladly accepted, locking her arms around his neck, never wanting to let go. Unfortunately, Leonard couldn't spare anymore time, so he had to release her.

“Bye Penny.”

“Bye Leonard. Have fun at work.”

“Without you? Impossible.” he smiled.

“Sweet-talker. Get out of here.” she said and playfully pushed him out into the hallway.

After another two hours of watching a movie, someone knocked on her door. She opened it to find Sheldon standing in the hallway, holding a set of Star Wars bed sheets in his hands.

_“_ Can you drive me to Pottery Barn?” he asked and instead of answering, she just closed the door.

 

* * *

 

The next two weeks were heaven for Penny. Contrary to Leonard's announcement of them not being able to get together, after his first night shift, they went into a satisfying rhythm of Penny getting up at eight in the morning, waiting at her door for Sheldon to leave for work and then sneaking over to spent the morning sleeping in his arms.

Or course, another great thing was the awesome sex they were having after waking up again in the afternoon. And always before that, Penny spent the mornings sleeping in his arms. From the second day onward, she has turned to wearing very loose tops so Leonard could put his hands under them and place them on her breasts as they slept.

Penny also gave in twice more to driving Sheldon to work but managing only once to actually take him all the way. The other time she made him get out again about three quarters of the way in, his ramblings about her check-engine light too much for her tired mind to bear.

Now, Penny sat in front of her laptop, surfing the internet with no particular goal in mind. She did that to waste time because she had gotten into the habit of going to bed very late. She was surprised when her Skype rang, wondering who would call her at two in the morning.

“Hey.” the voice and face of her boyfriend greeted her.

“Hey sweetie. I thought you couldn't chat or call during your experiments.”

“Usually not. But I found out that the side room is shielded. All I had to do was procure a long and shielded LAN cable to lay to the jack outside the lab.”

“But don't you have to supervise your experiment?” she asked.

“I can do that from in here. Right now, the laser is firing at the prism and the data is rolling in. Wait, I'll try to show you.” he said and she could see the picture on the screen moving and turning. She leaned forward to see better and saw a huge machine that was firing a bright beam of light at a target she couldn't see from that angle.

“Impressive.” she commented while the picture turned back around.

“Wow.” came his voice through the speaker.

“What?”

“Oh nothing. I just couldn't help but notice your posture combined with that shirt.” he said and she could see his smile. She looked down at herself and realized that the low cut of the loose nightshirt she was wearing was showing a shocking amount of cleavage when she bend down.

“You're a dirty boy, Doctor Hofstadter.” Penny said and started to take off her shirt to give him the complete show.

“No, don't do that.” he interrupted.

“Why?”

“I want to do that when we're back in my bed in a few hours. And the anticipation makes the time go by faster. And since today is Friday and I have this weekend off, we can really catch up” he grinned and Penny got all hot again. When did she start to crave a man like that after only twelve hours since their last carnal encounter?

“Leonard? We have to do something about Sheldon. His antics about the bus makes everyone crazy, except you since you don't have to drive him.”

“I know. Listen, I need to go back into the lab now but I have an idea. Instead of coming over in your pajamas later, get dressed. I will text Raj and Howard to meet us at your place at eight.”

“What for?”

“We're going do to an intervention.” he said and signed off with an air kiss. Penny wondered what he was planning but set her alarm anyway.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Penny woke up cranky after only five hours sleep. She washed up and brushed her teeth before eating a light breakfast and drinking three cups of coffee. After a few minutes, someone knocked on her door and opened it.

“Penny? Are you decent?” Leonard asked through the open crack.

“Yeah, come on in.” she replied and the door opened to reveal all three guys who piled into her apartment. “So, what is this about?”

“We need to get Sheldon to learn how to drive. The current situation is maddening for everyone here. And before you say it, yes, even for me because despite him knowing that I work nights, he frequently insists on me driving him.”

“Great idea.” Penny said. “How will you do that?”

“Well, we go over there and when he comes into the living room we will talk to him, hand him the DMV book and one of you will drive him there.” Leonard replied.

“How will we decide who does it?” Howard asked while Raj only shook is head.

“Rock, paper, scissors.” Leonard ordered and the other three stood in a circle. After three seconds, Penny had scissors and both Raj and Howard had rock, making her lose.”

“Dammit.” she exclaimed while Raj and Howard gave each other a high five.

“Okay, lets go over.” Leonard said and the group filed out and into 4A. Raj sat down on the wooden chair, while Penny went into Sheldon's spot, Howard next to her, almost crowding her. She was about to tell him off when Sheldon appeared from the bedroom area.

“Good morning.” the lanky physicist said to them with a look of confusion.

“Sheldon, sit down.” Leonard ordered.

“She’s in my spot.” Sheldon said, pointing at Penny, getting an exasperated look from the group. “Don’t look at me like that, everybody knows that my spot.” he continued and both Penny and Howard slid over the other side of the couch, making room for him, as Leonard sat down in his armchair.

“Sheldon, you know that we care about you.” Penny started.

“And it’s because we care about you that we’ve decided we have to speak up.” Howard continued while Raj nodded along.

“You’re hurting the people around you, sweetie.” Penny said.

“So we made you an appointment, and we want you to keep it.” Leonard finished the point and handed Sheldon the book.

“Department of motor vehicles new driver handbook? But I don’t have a problem.” Sheldon said confused.

“Sheldon, you need to learn how to drive.”

“This madness has to stop.” Howard interjected.

“Penny’s taking you to the DMV, I’m going to bed.” Leonard said and got up, moving towards the bedroom area.

“Why Penny?” Sheldon asked.

“Because rock breaks scissors. Goodnight.” Leonard said and kept moving, while Penny watched him go longingly. Oh, how she wanted to go with him right now.

“All right, come on Sheldon.” Penny said. She wanted to get this over with quickly so she could come back here and get into bed with Leonard.

“Hold on, I have one condition.” Sheldon stopped her.

“What?”

“We have to stop at Pottery Barn.”

“Okay.”

“And Radio Shack.”

“Fine.” she said and left the apartment.

“And the comic book store.” he shouted as he followed her.

“All right!”

After Penny reached her car and opened it for Sheldon to get in, she saw Howard come running out of the building.

“Wait up.” he called and hurried towards her car.

“Why?” she asked.

“I'm coming with you, I want to go to the comic book store too.”

“Fine.”

“Are you sure?” Sheldon asked. “She's been ignoring the check-engine light for a month now.”

“Well, if you are in the car with us, I gladly have it explode under me.” Howard said and climbed into the backseat.

 

* * *

 

After two hours of watching Sheldon haggle with the sales clerk at Pottery Barn followed by the same at Radio Shack and then an hour of picking out comic books, they were finally standing in line at the DMV. Penny looked at her watch and saw that it was already after ten. If that took any longer, she wouldn't be able to get to Leonard before he got up again. At least he had the weekend off. She was looking forward to spending it entirely with him.

“I just don’t see why I need a driver’s license, Albert Einstein never had a driver’s license.” Sheldon objected as they waited for the woman in front of them to finish.

“Yeah, but Albert Einstein didn’t make me wet myself at 40 miles an hour.” Howard said.

“Yeah, and I never wanted to kick Albert Einstein in the nuts.” Penny added. “You know, I gotta ask, why didn’t you just get a license at 16 like everybody else?”

“I was otherwise engaged.” Sheldon replied.

“Doing what?”

“Examining perturbative amplitudes in n=4 supersymmetric theories leading to a re-examination of the ultraviolet properties of multi-loop n=8 supergravity using modern twistor theory.”

_'I didn't understand any of that.'_ “Well, how ’bout when you were 17?”

An answer from Sheldon was cut short when the woman behind the counter called him forward. Penny watched in horror as Sheldon continued to argue with the DMV lady, questioning the validity of their tests and generally aggravating the woman. She had to pull him away even after the woman gave him the stamp that said he finished the test successfully.

“Aced it.” he proclaimed proudly, holding his learner's permit. Shaking her head, Penny followed him out and hopped into her car, waiting for the other two to get in.

“So, want me to drop you off at the university?” Penny asked.

“No, just bring me home. I need to prepare myself for the practical part of this.”

“Okay.” Penny replied and tried to mask her disappointment.

“Can you drop me off at my house too? I will pack some gear, then come over tomorrow afternoon. I will build a state-of-the-art simulator for you Sheldon, so you can learn to drive without endangering everybody on the streets.” Howard said.

Not participating in any more conversations between the two, Penny drove them home, ignoring Sheldon's attempts at conversation after dropping off Howard. After reaching their building and floor and Sheldon's disappearance into his apartment, Penny again looked longingly at the door to 4A before heading into her own.

 

* * *

 

“So, do you think, Sheldon will learn something substantive with Howard's machine?” Penny asked Leonard as she was putting her panties back on.

“I hope so. The last thing I want is for him to use my car to learn.” Leonard, who was sitting on the bed, replied.

“Leonard? You're staring.”

“I know.”

“You have that look again.”

“What look.”

“The one that makes you look as if you want to eat me.”

“Well, I did just eat you twenty minutes ago.” he grinned and Penny closed in on him, straddling him on the bed and putting her arms around his neck.

“And I thanked you for that by riding your for the last twenty minutes. I think your buddy down there needs some time. And now help me get dressed.” she said and got up again after quick kiss.

“How can I help you get dressed? Choosing clothes is not really my forte.” he commented and watched her put on some very short denim jeans.

“You need to fasten the straps of my shirt.” she replied and put on a yellow shirt with straps to the back.

“Come on, you can't wear that.” he said but knotted the straps anyway.

“Oh? Why not?” she grinned.

“Look at you. I will have to work hard not to get behind you and run my hands up your body until they rest on your magnificent breasts, which you are showing so much of in this shirt.”

“Maybe that's what I want.”

“What? Me running my hands all over you while our friends are watching?”

“No silly, watching you try to stop yourself from doing that.”

“You're mean.”

“And you just gave me four orgasms. Now start smiling smugly so you get it out of your system before we are over there.” she said and grabbed his hand, pulling him with her towards the other apartment. And Leonard did smile.

After entering the other apartment, Penny went behind Sheldon, who was already sitting at a giant simulator with a steering wheel and multiple monitors while Leonard stood in front of his own laptop that was connected to the entire contraption. Howard was busy crawling behind the thing, connecting more cables and doing some last minute calibrations.

“Okay, that’s it, let’s boot it up.” he proclaimed and stood up.

“Booting.” Leonard said and made room at his laptop for Howard.

“This is a state-of-the-art simulator. I adapted it from something a friend of mine designed for the army.” Howard explained.

“Is that why I appear to be in downtown Fallujah, behind the wheel of an up-armored Humvee?” Sheldon asked and with the question explained to Penny why she was looking at a desert environment.

“I haven’t configured it yet. Let’s see… Bradley tank… transport truck… Batmobile…” Howard listed and Sheldon had a gleeful reaction to the last one but Leonard quickly shot him down. “Here we go, red 2006 Ford Taurus on the streets of Pasadena.”

“Hmmmm?” Sheldon moaned.

“What?”

“Statistically, red cars are stopped by police far more often than any other color. I don’t want any hassles with the fuzz.”

“Fine, what color do you want?” Howard asked, the exasperation obvious.

“You know the pale blue of Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, before it was digitally remastered?”

“Black it is!”

“Okay, now, what you want to do first is turn on the ignition and shift into drive.” Leonard advised.

“I haven’t fastened my seat belt yet.” Sheldon said and Penny had to roll her eyes at that. Only Sheldon would say something like that when using a simulator. “Click.” he mimicked. “Now, are there air bags?”

“You don’t need air bags.” Leonard said, as exasperated as Howard.

“What if a simulated van rear-ends me?”

“I’ll hit you in the face with a pillow.” Penny said, getting fed up with him quickly. They were wasting time here, time she could spend in her own place, preferably in her bed with Leonard under or on top of her.

“Okay, now shift into drive, pull out slowly into traffic.” Leonard said and as soon as Sheldon tapped the pedal, the virtual environment in the simulator went from calm to total panic. The entire group had shocked reactions and tried to tell him what to do but soon enough a loud crash came from the speakers. Remembering what she had told him, Penny took the pillow from the couch and smacked it into Sheldon's face.

“Thank you.” the physicist said to her.

“I can't watch this anymore. I'll be in my apartment, reading some... articles.” she said, directing the last part to Leonard, hoping he would understand the implication of what she would be reading. Seeing his flustered reaction, she knew that he understood.

Back in her apartment, she took up her phone and re-watched some of the videos she and Leonard had made. After he learned about that, they had produced quite a few together, and with the knowledge of the camera they had placed themselves in perfect positions to get a good view. She blushed when she thought about the fact, that her friends had again seen one of those videos, but at least their envious reactions were a small reward for that. Plus, the dress looked stunning. Four hours in, her phone buzzed, indicating an incoming message.

**Sheldon just destroyed Glendale galleria and parked his car in the pet store**

**Isn't that on the second floor? How did he manage that?**

**Drove on Pasadena freeway, missed the exit, flew off the overpass and the rest is history**

**He did what now? Does he keep trying now?**

**He refuses to learn to drive as he is “too evolved” to do it**

**What a nice way to say I quit.**

**That's what I said. He says, he has a plan to remedy the situation as to how to get to work but he didn't elaborate and now he went to bed**

**Want to come over? ;)**

**Would love to but can't. Have a lecture to give tomorrow morning and then my night shifts start again, so I'm heading to bed as well**

**Too bad. Sweet dreams :-x**

**You too :-x**

 

* * *

 

As the days turned into a week and then two, Penny's mood soured considerably. It took a few weeks, but Leonard's prediction finally came true, when Penny was stuck with the morning and early afternoon shifts without being able to swap them. So while she was stuck at work, Leonard was in bed, sleeping, and when she got home, he was on his way to work.

At least mother nature had decided to hit her again during this period, making the fact that she was forced to miss Leonard at least a bit bearable, since it would mean that they could have sex again as soon as his experiment was done.

Now it was six in the evening and she was sitting at home, generally wasting time. A girls night was not possible, since Cheryl and Kim were currently working and she had no desire to spend time with Sheldon and listen to his whining. But at least she had the day off tomorrow so she could go over to Leonard again and sleep in his arms. So it came as a surprise when she suddenly received a text from Leonard.

**Wanna come over?**

**To your lab? Is that even allowed?**

**No, to the apartment. I'm home and Sheldon is not**

Without replying, Penny jumped up and went into her bedroom, looking for something nice to wear. Her eyes fell on the red dress she had borrowed and she quickly took off her underwear, changed into a thong and put the dress over her body. She checked herself in the mirror and after finding nothing to improve, she hurried into the hallway and knocked on the door to 4A before opening it and walking in.

“Wow!” she heard Leonard say after entering. She saw him standing in the kitchen area, wearing no hoodie for a change, preparing two dishes and staring at her open-mouthed. She twirled a bit, showing him the open back of the dress where he could just make out the waistband of her thong. “You look just... wow!”

“Thank you.” she replied and went over to him, giving him a long kiss and pressing her body to his. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too. I made chicken masala with naan and rice.”

“Wow, that looks good.” she said and helped him bring the pan and cutlery to the coffee table. Leonard went into the kitchen again and took two glasses and a bottle of wine, bringing it as well.

“I hope it tastes as good as it looks.” he grinned and poured the wine into the glasses. They lifted their glasses and, looking intently into each others eyes, clinked them before drinking. Both smiled at the implication, knowing what looking into each others eyes during clinking glasses meant.

She took her fork and started eating, dipping the bread into the masala and tasting his cooking abilities for the first time. She moaned at the good taste and ate faster, her appetite trumping her desire to savor the taste.

“Wow, that tastes awesome. I didn't know you can cook that well.” she proclaimed and took a huge bite of her naan bread.

“I just followed the instructions to the letter.” he said and put some more rice into his bowl.

“Nice to hear that you are good at following instructions.” she grinned.

“Very funny.”

They finished the meal while chatting about trivial matters but after Leonard had put away the dishes and sat back down into Sheldon's spot, she had one thing on her mind. Well, two things actually but the second one would come a bit later.

“By the way, where is Sheldon?”

“He's living at the university.”

“Come again?”

“As our resident homo novus is unable and unwilling to learn how to drive, he finds it move convenient to sleep in his office and shower in the radiation lab until I'm finished with my experiment.”

“And when will that be.”

“Yesterday.” he said and was met by her silence.

“Ah, what?”

“I finished my experiment yesterday.” he repeated.

“Then why is Sheldon still sleeping in his office?”

“Because I didn't tell him.”

“Why?”

“Take a look around. What do you see?” he asked and she did, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. “And more importantly, what do you hear?” he added.

“Nothing.” she replied confused.

“Exactly.” he smiled and the coin finally dropped. Sheldon wasn't here to disturb them and he wouldn't be coming home unexpectedly. After looking at him for a few seconds, she threw herself at him, straddling him and pressing her lips to his. Without hesitation, she invaded his mouth with her tongue, letting it dance inside him and tasting their dinner.

“How I missed feeling you like this during those last two weeks.” Leonard said, his lips wandering down her neck to her chest.

“I missed you too. A lot.” she replied and moaned as his lips caressed her skin. “Do you know what I'm wearing under this dress?”

“A thong.” he replied and continued kissing her chest and neck.

“How do you know?”

“Saw it when you twirled around before. The dress has a very low cut.” he grinned. “But you know, there is one outfit I love to see you in even more.”

“And which one is that?”

“The Eva outfit.”

“The Eva... Oh I get it.” she said and slowly pulled the dress over her head, throwing it on the armchair. “Like this?”

“Oh yes!” he hissed. “How can anyone be so beautiful.”

Penny leaned back a bit, holding herself to his neck to give Leonard access. He used it well and closed his lips around her left nipple, gently nipping it and caressing it with his tongue. But as much as she loved him doing that, she wanted, no needed more right now.

“Leonard, I need you now, you can suck on my nipple all you want later.” she said and stood up to drop her thong. While she was standing on the couch, Leonard wiggled himself out of his pants and shorts, revealing his already hard erection to her. Despite the fact that his head directly in front of her center, she resisted the urge to press his head between her legs and bent her knees again, sinking down and using one hand to guide his manhood into her.

She connected their lips again and moaned into his mouth. How she had missed this during the last two weeks. A small part of her brain was once again terrified at how much she needed and even craved him all the time. If they would ever split up, she wasn't sure if she could survive that emotionally.

She didn't waste any time and started moving, first in a grinding motion before bouncing wildly on him. She tried to make smoother movements, but her body had other ideas and wanted to go faster and harder than she was capable of. And after two weeks of resisting the urge to relieve the sexual pressure by herself, it didn't take long for her to cry out her climax. What was surprising though, that she took Leonard with her right away, a loud groan escaping his body as he unloaded into her.

“Leonard? Just over five minutes?” she asked him with some incredulity.

“Yeah.” he replied, somewhat embarrassed. “But it had been two weeks. And today you are tighter than I have ever felt you before.”

“Oh.” she said, a little smug herself. “But I had hoped for some more.”

“Don't worry, I have no plans of letting you leave tonight or going to sleep. The only thing I want to do is take you to bed and have my way with you all night.”

“How will you be able to do that if I have my way with you all night?” she asked with a devilish grin.

“I'm sure we can get to some sort of compromise.” he replied, not in the least unfazed.

“Yeah, you might find a way to get me to do the things you want.” she said and stood up, taking his hands and pulling him up behind her. “But what will we do the next thirty minutes until your buddy is rested?”

“Well, a few minutes ago, you said something about me sucking your nipple all I want. And I intend to to take you up on that offer.” he said and after they collected their clothes, pulled her towards his bedroom. “And just so you know, I have bought an HD camcorder.”

Penny grinned as she was pulled with him. This was going to be another night to remember.

 

* * *

 

**And, end of chapter here. Hope you liked the off camera stuff ;)**

**Review please :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Holy crap, having no internet for two days really sucks if you don't have a TV -.- But it's back now so I can finally upload this chapter.**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.**

* * *

"Good morning." Penny heard the voice of Leonard saying after opening her eyes. She turned her head and body to the right and saw him smiling at her.

"Morning." she replied sleepily and stretched her arms out, pulling him closer.

She started kissing him and he kissed back, timid at first to gauge the intensity of their respective morning breaths but soon enough their tongues were dancing the slow dance they had done each morning during the last week.

She smiled as she thought back to the events of the last eight days. It had been heaven and she wondered if they would ever do something like this again. They had practically lived together, both at her apartment and his during Sheldon's absence and used the time to learn each others quirks and desires. Leonard was able to work from home, crunching the data from his experiments and Penny did her shifts as fast as she could before hurrying back into his vicinity.

One day in particular had stood out. While they usually walked around dressed casually, which usually meant him wearing shorts and a shirt and her mostly walking around in her underwear, on Wednesday they done numerous make out sessions that had always led to heavy petting and a lot of intercourse. Both had been wondering what made them crave each other like this, as the slightest thing had set them off, so to speak.

After riding him hard on her couch, they had rested for about forty-five minutes and when Penny had stood behind the couch, bent slightly over its back to fluff out the pillows, Leonard had placed himself behind her and entered her again, leading to another fifteen minutes of hard intercourse.

Ironically enough, the following night was the only one they didn't have sex as they were both way too exhausted to do anything but go to sleep. They had gone to bed at eight in the evening and slept twelve hours in each others arms, never once separating their bodies.

And Penny didn't just enjoy the sex, although it was amazing and oh so satisfying, leading to enormous tips at work due to her happiness and the envy of two certain colleagues of hers who knew what that meant. But also the sense of belonging. She loved coming home to Leonard, or him coming home to her when he was out, them enjoying dinner together, despite the presence of Raj and Howard.

But of course, the bliss couldn't last. On Friday, Sheldon had gone to the laser lab where Leonard had done his experiment and badgered the scientist that used it during the day to make room for Leonard, so he could finish his own experiment faster. The others had then told him that Leonard was finished for a week now and that had led to a massive fallout between the two.

Sheldon had gone so far as to banish Leonard from the apartment for the entire weekend, something he only halfheartedly objected since it meant spending that time with Penny while Sheldon saw it as a harsh punishment because he had to “sleep on her hard couch again”. And while going out was impossible due to her late shifts, they had spend the mornings and especially the nights doing what Penny simply loved doing. Make love.

Saturday evening, she had gone so far as to wheel her TV into the bedroom and hooking it up to the camcorder Leonard had brought with him. It had been the first time that Penny watched herself live having sex. It had been a strange and also exhilarating experience to both watch herself like a spectator and feel it at the same time. Watching a close-up of his repeated penetration during her most favorite position made her appreciate the effort he put in, the precise angle he managed to give the maximum amount of pleasure.

And now it was Tuesday and he had to return to work, while she could enjoy another day off with the girls. She was sore, she was aching between her legs and she had hickeys all over her body. All those things combined, she felt better than ever. If only she could finally voice her feelings for him but for some reason, she still hadn't managed to get it out.

“So, what is my most favorite physicist doing today?” she asked after breaking the kiss.

“Co-lecture with Sheldon for a new batch of grad students, we're making a presentation about the physics department, I will make a demonstration for experimental physics with a helium-neon laser and Sheldon will then tell them about what a theoretical physicist does.”

“Does that mean you buried the hatchet?”

“Pretty much.”

“How? You never talked it out.” she said.

“And we never will. In Sheldon's mind, the punishments he doles out are enough. He beliefs once you experienced a Sheldon Cooper punishment, you learned your lesson. Also, he still needs me to drive him, so he's more willing to sweep the whole thing under the rug.”

“Wow. That would never happen with me.”

“Oh, I know.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“That you are quite argumentative.”

“I'm really trying to figure out if that is meant as an insult or a compliment.”

“What if I call it passionate?”

“Then I'll take it as a compliment.” she smiled and kissed him again.

“What will you do today?”

“Spend the day with Cheryl and Kim, gossiping about everyone.”

“I'll take it you reconciled?”

“Yeah. They helped with with good advice during our spat over my blowjob. And I have to give the red dress back to Cheryl.”

“Too bad. You look stunning in it.”

“I know. But it has done its job.”

“Its job?”

“Getting you to take it off me.” she grinned.

“Oh, then yes, it did. So effectively.” he replied and smiled at the memory. “Ok, I need to get up now before Sheldon comes knocking and telling me we're gonna be late.”

Leonard got up and went into the bathroom, doing his morning routine before coming out again. Meanwhile, Penny had taken her comforter and snuggled herself in, basking in the warmth it still held from their combined body heat. When Leonard came out again, he looked at her questioningly.

“What?” she asked upon seeing his look.

“Uh, I thought you'd get up.” he replied.

“No, I wanted to go to sleep again once you left, why?”

“Nothing, um... I just thought...”

“What?”

“Well, I thought I'd get to see you naked again.” he said, almost shy.

“Sweetie? You saw me naked almost the entire last week. Last night as well, remember? You ran your tongue over my naked body.”

“Okay then. I had thought I could lick you to a good morning orgasm but since you want to sleep, I better head out.” he said with a grin and moved towards the door.

“Wait, that sounds great.”

“No no, you had your chance. Bye.” he grinned and left the apartment.

“Damn you, now I'm all hot again. Just wait, next time you're here, I'll get on top and make you lick for me an hour.” she grumbled and turned around, trying to get her heartbeat down again for some more sleep.

* * *

After an hour of trying, she got up, too aroused for more sleep. Sometimes she cursed her body for wanting so much sex and Leonard for being able to give it to her like that. He has become like a drug, the more she got the more she wanted.

But who could blame her. During an orgasm, she felt like a comet crashing to earth. Leonard had said the same once about his experience having one. It didn't help much that he sounded like an asthmatic polar bear when he climaxed though she herself didn't sound much better, either she was screaming like a woman who is getting ax murdered or squeaking like a dog's chew toy when the endorphins overtook her.

She booted up her laptop and after it had finished, she saw Leonard online on Skype. She lost no time in calling his contact.

“Hey sweetie.” Penny greeted Leonard after his face appeared on the screen. Since his night experiments and their frequent talks on Skype, Leonard had installed it on his workstation so they could talk to each other while he was in his lab.

“Hey. How's it going? I thought you wanted to go to your friends?”

“I will, later. But I just saw you online and thought, what the hell. How did your presentation go?”

“Not that good. I accidentally poured peach Snapple into the laser array.”

“Oh Leonard.” Penny sighed. “Hey, why are you smiling like that?”

“Oh, uh, nothing. I just had a flashback to last night when you said “Oh Leonard”.”

“You have a dirty mind, Doctor Hofstadter.”

“And you like that dirty mind. Especially since it was my dirty mind that made me look up those positions on Google.”

“Anyway.” Penny interrupted before that conversation made her all hot again. “I felt a bit sorry that you couldn't see me naked this morning, so...”

“You do realize that I was kidding, right? Although I love to see you naked.” he interrupted.

“And that's why I thought I would let you watch me get dressed.” Penny smiled and stood up, walking backwards so that Leonard was able to see more than just her face.

She heard him moaning as her naked body came into full view. She had already lain out all the clothes she would be wearing and she started with the pair of red panties he said he loved to see on her. This particular pair showed off her butt and only covered half of it but was still more than a thong. Next came her socks and pants, leaving her upper body still naked.

She bent down towards the camera, giving Leonard a last look, at least for now, at her naked breasts before putting on her flower motif shirt with the open back that didn't allow her to wear a bra. She slowly pushed the shoulder straps over her head and optimized the presentation of her cleavage in full view of the camera.

“You are so mean.” Leonard said after she had finished.

“Ah, I'm sorry.” she said with fake sincerity. “How about as a compromise, I let you take it off again.”

“I think we have a deal.” he replied.

“How did Sheldon's part of the lecture go? Any lingering problems between you two?”

“That was kind of an abrupt change in topic. But, I'm glad to say that he made my laser presentation a success.”

“I thought you poured Snapple in it?”

“I did. But Sheldon rambled on about how none of the assembled grad students will ever make a significant contribution to physics. He basically told them they were wasting their time. One of the females even threw up.”

“Jesus Christ. Is he aware of what he's doing?”

“In his mind, he's doing physics a favor by weeding out the useless people.”

“Seriously, that man needs to be examined by a professional. Okay, I need to go now.”

“Have fun with your friends. Try not to give them too many details about our sex life.”

“Hey!”

“What? Okay, you are allowed to tell them about my ten inch manhood that lasts five hours.”

“Yeah right. You are aware that they have seen it on the videos they stole, right?”

“Damn.” he grinned.

“Don't worry, they are always green with envy when I walk in after either morning sex or a very long and satisfying night.”

“I aim to please.”

“That you do. That you do.” she said and placed a kiss on the camera lens. “Bye sweetie.” she said and shut off the laptop after his reply. She grabbed her car keys and headed out. This time she would have a great excuse for not drinking with them.

* * *

“Come on in girl, Kim is already here.” Cheryl said and made way.

“Of course she is, it's almost as if she's living here already.” Penny said.

“I heard that!” Kim's voice shouted out of the living room.

“Here's your dress back. Cleaned as per the instructions on the label.” Penny said and handed Cheryl the bag with the dress in it.

“Thanks. Did it help?”

“Oh yes.” Penny grinned, remembering what had happened afterwards.

“Please tell me you at least took it off before having sex.”

“Of course I did. But you can thank Leonard for that because he told me he preferred me in the Eve outfit even more.”

“Thank god.” Cheryl sighed in relief.

“So, how was it? You said you couldn't have sex with him for several weeks because he had to work nights.” Kim asked.

“Actually, on the first day I had to drive his roommate to work and after returning I went into Leonard's bed instead of heading back into my own and after sleeping in his arms, we had sex. And we did that every day for two weeks except weekends. After that I had to work mornings so I couldn't get together with him.”

“I remember.” Kim interrupted. “You became very grouchy after a week.”

“Yeah. But then Leonard finished his experiment. And his roommate had started to sleep in his office, and Leonard didn't tell him he was finished so we had the apartment to our own for the entire week. And seriously, it was one hell of a week, especially Wednesday.”

“Let me guess, lots of sex?”

“You have no idea. That Wednesday, I thought something was wrong with us, we were both like horny bunnies, doing it whenever we wanted no matter where we were in the apartment. I mean, I fluffed out my pillows on the couch and he took that as an invitation to do me from behind for ten minutes. That night, we were so exhausted, we fell into bed and slept twelve hours straight.”

“Hm.” Cheryl hummed.

“What?” Penny asked.

“I don't know. For one, you still make a good case for us to simply grab Leonard to have sex with him, and two, it sounds as if your entire relationship is solely based on sex. Are you doing anything else that couples do?”

“Um...” Penny had to agree with Cheryl, it really sounded like that. Usually they would meet and have sex, going out was mostly impossible due to her work schedule and his friends.

“Could your difficulties in telling him that you love him stem from the fact that you might not even love him but are just attached to his abilities in bed?” Kim asked.

“No! No, no, no. I do love him.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I also immensely enjoy spending time with him, even if it doesn't lead to or involve sex. What you just described was more or less my relationship with Kurt. Yes, he was good in bed and I might have mistook that for love. But I never ever thought of having a family with him, never dreamed about it.”

“And with Leonard?”

“With Leonard I did. I dreamed about us sitting on a veranda, watching our kids play outside. I imagined myself lying in his arms, our wedding bands touching, his hands gliding over my pregnant belly.

“But all the sex...” Cheryl started.

“So what?” Penny interrupted. “Cheryl, it's very simple. I'm a physical person. I like sex. Hell, I love sex. And yes, especially with Leonard, because despite his asthma, he is able to keep up and even surpass me on occasion. Having him move inside me has, for me, become the the greatest feeling in the world, better than with every guy I ever was with, especially when he's hitting my g-spot over and over again.”

“But you used to go out all the time.”

“I still like doing that. But there was one day where I decided that spending time with Leonard, no matter what we do, is better than going out just for the sake of it. If he is with me, it doesn't matter where I am. Yes, I'd like to go to a movie and dinner with him but I like it just as much just to sit on the couch with him next to me, watching TV, our feet on the table and take-out boxes in our hands.”

“Okay, you made your point.” Kim said and put up her hands in surrender.

“So, where were we on deciding when we can have him?” Cheryl said grinning.

“How about I bring him here tomorrow? Is a threesome enough or each of you want him for yourself. Do I have to participate or is it enough when I film it and shout instructions?” Penny asked, somehow keeping a straight face, despite the shocked faces of the other two girls.

“Uh, you're kidding, right?” Kim asked.

“Of course I am! Seriously, as if I would let you get your hands on him.” Penny laughed.

“You're mean, you know that?” Cheryl sulked.

“Leonard said something similar when I got dressed in front of the camera lens during our Skype session this morning.” Penny grinned. “But in all seriousness, your repeated insinuations about getting to him doesn't help allay my fears that you one day won't be able to restrain yourselves.”

“Okay, I see your point. Let me put it this way. Even with all the teasing and remarks, we will never make a move on Leonard as long as you two are a couple.” Cheryl said sincerely.

“Okay, good.” Penny replied relieved.

“But mark my words, if you two ever break up, he will be moaning loud under me the day after.” Cheryl added.

“And after that I will have my way with him.” Kim piled on.

“Why doesn't that surprise me. And don't worry, if I have it my way, we will never ever break up. He is mine as I am his.” Penny clarified.

“So, did you make any more videos? I think I can offer you good stuff in exchange for them.” Cheryl winked.

“Actually, we did. But since Leonard has bought a camcorder, I don't use my phone to record it anymore.”

“What? You can't tell us that you made more videos and then that we can't have them.”

“Too bad. You're voyeurism days are over, missy.” Penny said and poked out her tongue.

“So I guess you used it a number of times already?”

“Of course. Recorded almost all of what we did during last week. Saturday night, I moved my TV into my bedroom and we hooked it up to the camcorder.”

“Oh my god.” Kim interrupted. “You watched yourself live doing it?”

“What the...? How do you know that?”

“Why else would you put your TV into your bedroom in combination with the camcorder?”

“We could have watched a movie in bed.”

“Well, then you shouldn't have mentioned that you hooked it up to the camcorder.”

“Shut up.”

“And back to your standard answer when you run out of arguments.” Kim grinned.

“Want some wine?” Cheryl asked.

“Not today, I'm driving.”

“Water?”

“Please.” Penny said and accepted the bottle.

“Okay then.” Cheryl started and got comfortable. “Tell us about last week.”

Penny rolled her eyes and let her head fall back into the backrest. She really should have learned something by now, a visit to Cheryl always resulted in her having to tell them about her sex life that they already knew way too much about.

* * *

Before Penny could comprehend what had happened, she had recounted the entire week in detail, basking in the envy of the other two and enjoying their resulting irritation at their current boyfriends, lovers or whatever they call them and their inability to achieve what Leonard can.

Still grinning at their reactions towards some of her stories, she parked the car and stepped out of it. She looked up at the lit living window of her boyfriend's apartment, thinking about a way to get him out of there and into hers to spend some more time together.

Despite Cheryl's involuntary attempt to cast a lingering doubt about her true feelings for Leonard, Penny remained resolute. When she told Cheryl that she liked sex, nothing was more true than that statement. But she really wanted have Leonard around her, plain and simple. If that lead to sex, even better.

But sex wasn't the only thing she craved. When she and Leonard got to bed at eight in the evening, she would gladly spend twelve hours in his arms without ever moving. But she felt that both the emotional and physical bond they shared was the apex of a relationship. The perfect night in her imagination would be her and him connected in the sweet act of sex, preferably with him giving her orgasm after orgasm in her most favorite position.

Or with her on top, bouncing and grinding wildly on him, enjoying the control. But lately, the most emotionally satisfying position had become the plain old missionary. When he was on top of her like that, her legs hooked behind his waist, guiding his speed and their lips connected, their entire bodies were touching. And even with the slower speed, the sensuality of the act made it even better than the simple pounding she still loved receiving.

All these thoughts went through her as she neared the entrance. But any more were whisked away when she saw a tall redhead standing in front of the elevator, waiting, with a large take-out bag in her hands. She wondered where this girl was going. The other tenants weren't the type to receive young visitors, except if she was a relative. But still, she couldn't let her just stand there.

“Oh, this thing’s majorly out of order.” she told the girl, picking up the out-of-order sign that had fallen to the floor and putting it back on the elevator doors. _“_ See? Sorry.”

“That’s okay. Guess I’m taking the stairs.” the girl replied.

“Where you going?”

“4A.”

A million thoughts chased each other through Penny's head at the implication of what she just heard. There were two people in 4A. One she was in love with and another she could barely stand. And the second person was someone who had never shown any interest in female company so the only person this girl wanted to visit was the one guy that belonged to her.

_'What is going on? Is she just trying to get to know him better? Is she one of his students? Does she want to get a better grade?'_ “Are you here to see Leonard?”

“No, Dr. Cooper.”

_'What the hell? Did she really just say...'_ “Dr. Sheldon Cooper?” she asked instead, still somewhat confused.

“We’re having dinner.” the girl replied.

“Sheldon Cooper?” Penny asked again, emphasizing his last name. “Tall, thin, looks a little like a giant praying mantis?”

“He is cute, isn’t he?”

“Sheldon Cooper?” she asked once more, this time emphasizing his first name and still unable to actually believe it. She ran up the stairs to catch up with the girl, who was walking briskly the last few stairs and knocked on the door to 4A, just as Penny reached her.

“Hi, Leonard.” the girl greeted her boyfriend after he opened the door.

“Hey, Ramona. Come on in.” Leonard replied, finally giving Penny the name of the young woman.

“Thanks. Where should I put this?” Ramona replied while walking into the apartment.

“Uh, the kitchen’s fine.” Leonard said and turned to Penny., _“_ Hey, how's it going?”

“I need to see this.” she said, her eyes still fixated on Ramona, who was sorting out the food she brought.

“Uh-huh. The viewing area’s right over there.” Leonard said and pointed to the couch where Raj and Howard were already sitting. She quickly sat down between them and fixed her eyes on the kitchen area again. “Sheldon, your girl… date… person… Ramona’s here.” Leonard shouted.

“Oh, hello.” Sheldon said after coming into the room.

“Oh, sorry I’m late. I just got so caught up reading the draft of your latest paper.” Ramona said and almost giggled.

“Did you enjoy the humorous footnote where I illustrate mirror-symmetry by likening it to the Flash playing tennis with himself?” Sheldon asked, but Penny had no idea what he was talking about.

“So funny. But the idea that you might be able to incorporate gravity, I have to tell you, I found it physically exhilarating.”

“My hypotheses tend to have that effect.” Sheldon said, not getting the hint.

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring enough for your friends. I assumed we were going to be alone.” Ramona directed the last sentence towards he rest of the group.

“Oh yeah, we were just going.” Leonard started.

“To watch, right?” Howard finished and this time Penny had to agree with him.

“No, come on, now, we’re going out.” Leonard said and mentioned for them to get out of the apartment.

“Oh, come on, we’ll be quiet.” Penny tried.

“Let’s go.” he said more pointedly. “Okay, you two, just, have a nice… whatever this is.”

After the group had filed into the hallway, Penny still tried to wrap her head around the fact that a woman was interested in Sheldon, clearly in more than just a professional manner and Sheldon somehow agreed on a dinner with that woman. With that in mind, she turned to the guys with the one question that has been on her mind for quite a while now.

“Okay, you guys, look, I know this is none of my business, but I just, I have to ask, what’s Sheldon’s deal?”

“What do you mean “deal”?” Leonard asked.

“You know, like what’s his deal? Is it girls? Guys? Sock puppets?” Penny clarified.

“Honestly, we’ve been operating under the assumption that he has no deal.” Leonard said sincerily.

“Come on, everybody has a deal.” she inquired further.

“Not Sheldon.” Howard spoke up. “Over the years, we’ve formulated many theories about how he might reproduce. I’m an advocate of mitosis.”

“I’m sorry?” Penny asked, not sure what mitosis meant.

“I believe one day Sheldon will eat an enormous amount of Thai food and split into two Sheldons.”

“On the other hand, I think Sheldon might be the larval form of his species, and someday he’ll spin a cocoon and emerge two months later with moth wings and an exoskeleton.” Leonard offered.

“Okay, well, thanks for the nightmares.” Penny said and turned to leave, pretty grossed out.

“Hey, do you want to hang out with us?” Leonard asked.

_'With you? Hell yes. With them? Not so much.'_ she thought.“What are you guys gonna do?” she asked instead and was met by momentary silence, showing her that in terms of spontaneous stuff to hang out, the guys were woefully inept.

“My mom’s making a brisket tonight.” Howard said.

“The one with the little onions?” Leonard asked and got a confirming nod from Howard.

“Yeah, I’m busy, so, goodnight.” Penny said, her desire to spend time with Leonard being massively outweighed by her aversion to spending time with Howard or his mom.

She went into her apartment and let herself fall on the couch. What a day. First she had given her friends a detailed rehash of a week filled with sex but even that was topped by the fact that Sheldon had a date, even if he didn't know it was one. Wondering what she could do now, a knock interrupted her thinking. She went to the door and opened it, finding Leonard standing smiling in front of it.

“Hey, I thought you went with Howard.” she said, letting him in.

“I was inclined to go but I thought of something better to spend my time doing.”

“What is that?”

“You.”

“Your time is spent better by doing me?” she asked grinning. Not a bad idea.

“Oh, uh... that didn't come out right.” he stammered.

“Really? It sounded quite right to me, I do enjoy it when you are doing me.” she grinned.

“Yeah, I do too, so much. But right now I wanted to say something else.”

“Okay. What were you thinking?”

“How about we go out tonight?”

“Out? Like really out?”

“Yeah, we go to dinner, a movie. We haven't done that in a while.”

“Are you clairvoyant? I was talking about this with Cheryl and Kim. They mentioned that I was going out far less than before I met you.”

“Oh, if that is bothering you, why haven't you said anything?”

“No no, it isn't bothering me. And before they said anything, it never occurred to me that we only had two dates since we got together, where we actually went out. Anything else was here or at your place, sometimes just us and sometimes with the guys and once that thing with Leslie.”

“So, you want to?”

“Hell yes! Let me go get changed.” she said and moved towards her bedroom.

“Uh, do you have to?”

“What, change?”

“Yeah.”

“Why shouldn't I change?”

“Well, I...uh... you know...”

“No, I don't know. What is it?” she asked, suspecting what he probably was getting at.

“Um... I would like other people to see you in that outfit, knowing that they can't have you.”

“Leonard, I'm shocked.” Penny said with mock outrage. “Do you want to brag?”

“Yeah. I want people to say “Look, that girl is hot, has amazing breasts even without a bra. I'm so envious of that guy.””

“Ah, you're so cute when you get possessive.” she said and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him. “But let me change a part of my outfit and if you don't like it, then I change back, okay?”

“Fine.”

She kissed him again and hurried into her bathroom, fixing her makeup and hair before returning to her bedroom. She got out of her pants and panties and grabbed a very skimpy thong, putting it on and looking at herself in the mirror. After accepting her choice, she picked a short and tight skirt that hugged her curves and fit with the flower motif of her top. She went out into the living room again and twirled around.

“So, what do you think?” she asked.

“Wow, that IS better. You look amazing. Kind of makes me want to drag you back in there and have my way with you.”

“Oh no, you promised me a night out and that is exactly what we will do. But don't worry about later. I so want you inside me tonight so much, I'm going to have my way with you, rather than the other way around.”

“That's something to look forward to.” he grinned and led her out of the apartment.

* * *

After a short drive, they parked next to the Szechuan Palace, the restaurant they wanted to go to on their three-month anniversary but was nixed by the presence of Sheldon arguing with the head waiter.

They found the restaurant only half filled and were promptly led to a table for two in a corner, giving them an even better chance to have a quiet and romantic meal. Not long after their waiter brought them the complementary water and the menus, he returned to take their orders.

“I'll have the chicken on broiled rice with sweet and sour sauce and a root beer.” Leonard said and handed his menu to the waiter.

“I'll take the spring rolls on rice with a side order of dumplings, please. And an orange juice.” Penny ordered.

“Very good. Do you want an appetizer?” the waiter asked.

“I'll take a Tom Yam.” Leonard said and got a curious look from Penny.

“What's that?” she asked.

“It's a spicy shrimp soup.”

“Uuuh, I'll try that too.” she said to the waiter.

“Very good. It will be done shortly.”

“That was a great idea Leonard, I missed this.” Penny said after the waiter had left.

“What? Having Thai food? We have that every Monday.” he smiled, pulling her leg.

“No, silly.” she smiled back, knowing he was just kidding. “Going out. Cheryl was right, I love going out. But that it's with you makes it even better.”

“Really?”

_'Okay, it's now or never.'_ she thought, determined to tell him that she loves him. “Of course. Because I... uh... I really...”

“Here you go, your Tom Yam. Your dinner will be ready in ten minutes.” the waiter interrupted her attempts, placing the bowls in front of them.

“Thanks.” Leonard said and the waiter left again. “What were you saying?”

“Because... I really... love spending time with you, even when we're not going out but only sitting on my couch.” she said, deciding on the next best thing after losing her nerve thanks to that moronic waiter who had decided to interrupt her in the most important moment. _'Why is that so hard? It shouldn't be that hard. I love him, I really do. I want to marry him and have his kids someday. But why can't I tell him my feelings. I'm sure he feels the same.'_

She felt a tear running down her cheek, the sadness about her cowardice overcoming her. Leonard looked at her and only grinned, which made her wonder how he could do that seeing her in a state like this.

“Spicy, huh?” he asked and took a spoonful of his soup.

“Yeah.” she said and used a tissue to dry her eyes. So that was it, he interpreted the tear as coming from the aroma of the soup. She took a spoonful herself and despite having lost some of her appetite in the last few minutes, it came back full force after tasting the amazing soup she had gotten. Maybe she would get another chance to tell him later, maybe during the movie.

* * *

After Leonard had paid the bill, they went out and leisurely strolled to his car, breathing in the warm evening air. Like on their last date, it took only a short ten minute drive to reach the movie theater. Looking at the movies that were playing in the coming hour, Leonard turned to her, smiled and took out a piece of paper and a pen, writing something on it and stowing the paper back into his pocket.

“What did you write?” she asked.

“You'll see in a few minutes.” he smiled.

Penny pulled Leonard to the counter, where he bought the two tickets to the movie she chose. After buying a bucket of popcorn and some beverages, they sat down in the pair seats again, the missing divider making snuggling easier. Since it was a week night, there were only three other couples sitting in the theater, down in the middle rows, which would give them a real quite time without others to disturb them during viewing.

After Penny had made herself comfortable, Leonard handed her the paper he had written on when they came in.

_We will be watching the Jennifer Anniston movie He's Just Not That Into You. You owe me sexual favors now :-p_

“Ha ha, very funny.” she said and handed him back the paper.

“What? I was right, wasn't I?”

“What's so wrong about those movies?”

“Nothing, except they are always romances with Jennifer Anniston.”

“Just for that, I pick the next ten movies.”

“If you wear clothes like that, gladly.”

“Yeah, yeah. Now shut up and hand me some popcorn.” she said as the lights went out and the trailers started.

They had finished their popcorn even before the feature had started and shortly after it began, Leonard already lost interest. But for this extraordinary and beautiful woman cuddled in his arms, he would gladly bear it. While his right arm was draped around her waist and kept her close, he let his left hand softly glide over her left leg, moving it higher and higher against her skirt.

“Leonard?” Penny whispered to him.

“Yes?” he whispered back.

“You're a mean tease.”

“This isn't teasing, this is caressing.” he said and suddenly pushed his hand under her skirt, letting his finger run over her fabric covered center, making her quiver in surprise. “That was teasing.” he grinned and put his hand back to her leg.

Penny looked at him and saw the smug grin on his face as his eyes were glued to the screen. She knew that he knew that she looked at him by the way he gently squeezed her thigh.

_'How is he doing that? A single touch and I'm ready to pounce on him, screw that place and other people.'_ she thought and lifted herself up a bit, pulling her skirt up in the process before sitting back down. She took his right hand, which had rested on her waist so far, and put it between her legs, moving it along for a few seconds until he got the hint.

“Can you be quiet?” he whispered to her with a smile and started rubbing her, gently at first but it soon became more fierce. His hand went under the fabric of her thong, getting in contact with her wet folds and expertly flicking his finger over her nub with the exactly right amount of pressure to give her the maximum amount of pleasure.

He increased his speed, rubbing her in a circular motion while her hips bucked involuntary against his hand. She had to work hard not to moan loudly, her loud breathing the only indication of what was going on in row twenty-five but not loud enough as to disturb the other couples.

After less then five minutes, she put her hand over her mouth to muffle anything coming out of it while she rode out the orgasm that had hit her. She took Leonard's hand away and let her head fall back into the seat, taking deep breaths and enjoying the occasional twitch. Exhaling, she turned to him and gave him an evil smile. She grabbed between his legs and opened the zipper, pulling out his manhood that was quickly stiffening under her touch.

“Can you be quiet?” she mirrored his question from before and bend her body, taking it into her mouth and letting her tongue swirl around the tip.

She heard a loud hiss coming out of his mouth and felt his entire body go stiff, as if he was trying to freeze the moment. She didn't let him get used to it though and quickly started moving her head, keeping her tongue moving all the time. She took him in completely and swallowed, the feeling he was experiencing something that he told her he enjoyed immensely.

She continued for ten minutes, careful not to stimulate him too much, since she didn't want him to come. During those minutes, while her head bobbed up and down and his hissing was like music in her ears, because it told her she was doing it right, an idea had formed in her head. She had had sex in a lot of places but there was one she never once did it.

But now, sitting in an almost deserted movie theater, in the top row, giving the man she loved a sensual blowjob after receiving an orgasm courtesy of his hand, she couldn't think of any argument against it.

She released him and his head fell back against the back like hers before as if he was relieved that it was over. He probably was on the verge of coming and knew that it would be a bad idea because of her dislike of his spill in her mouth.

“Now we both have to be quiet.” she whispered and saw the confused look on his face before she slid up his body and into his lap as to not alarm the others.

When she was in the right position, she leaned back against his chest and grabbed his manhood, pushing aside her thong and placing it into the correct position for sinking down.

“Oh god!” Leonard hissed as she took him in completely, his arms holding her tight around her chest.

She started moving gently and kept clenching her inner muscles, feeling him move along her walls. It was a amazing feeling, one she could never describe with words. Every nerve ending inside her were on fire, sending jolts of pleasure into her brain as he started moving in sync with her.

“You're so tight.” Leonard whispered and put one hand down, rubbing her in tandem with their movements, increasing her pleasure even more.

The slow speed prolonged the act and Penny thought that if it was possible to do this for hours, she would gladly bear any chafing later. It was such an amazing feeling. But she knew, at some point they had to stop one way or another, because at some point the movie would be over and the lights back on. And it would not be nice to be seen gyrating on her boyfriend by the other couples.

When she felt the coil tightening, she sped up a fraction and kept clenching her muscles. She knew that it would increase the chances of him climaxing, as it had on earlier occasions. She put her hand on her mouth again to muffle any sounds as he came, gyrating wildly but quietly. Even before she felt him spill inside her, the grunt she heard from him told her that she had successfully made him climax as well.

She grabbed some tissues from her purse and handed Leonard one, using several more to clean herself up. No need to tell the cleaning stuff later that someone had had sex in this seat.

“That was amazing.” Leonard whispered as he closed the zipper on his pants again.

“I agree. I never did it in the movie theater before.” she whispered back and smiled at him.

“I'm glad you chose me for the premiere.” he said and kissed her.

Penny leaned against his chest and tilted her head back. He took the invitation and kissed her, their tongues again doing their slow dance. She put her right arm around his neck to keep herself in position before Leonard put his left arm under her head, holding her comfortably while they kept kissing.

They were still kissing when the sound of a throat clearing pulled them out of their state. They saw the usher smiling at them and realized that they were sitting alone in the well lit theater, the movie having ended minutes ago. They said the apologies and after both of them used the bathroom, they went back out to his car.

“So, home?” Leonard asked.

“It's still early. Why don't we go to a bar?”

“Well, okay. But not for long, remember I have to work tomorrow.”

Following her instructions, he drove the short way to a nearby bar Penny said she had frequented quite often. It was more a club than a bar, with bouncers around and loud music coming from the inside.

“Penny, are you sure? You know I can't dance.”

“I know. But we don't have to dance, having a drink or two is enough. Obviously no alcohol for you. And why not enjoy the music while we're here.”

Leonard couldn't argue against it, after a few drinks, Penny tended to get even more... affectionate than usual and who was he to argue. But the music wasn't really his style although he had to admit it made a nice beat for women to shake their hips.

They entered the club and headed straight for the bar, Leonard ordering water for himself and a beer for Penny. As they walked around hand in hand, Leonard looked around. Despite it being a weekday, the place was pretty full, not packed but still a lot of people around. Penny pulled him towards the dance floor but stopped before reaching it.

She leaned back into him and he put his free arm around her body. She started moving her hips to the beat of the music, pressing her lower body against him in a very suggestive manner. She turned her head and smiled at him, giving him several kisses while keeping up her movements.

“Hey Penny.” a voice disturbed them. She turned and saw two guys walking towards them, recognizing the speaker.

“Hey Eric. How's Marie?”

“At home. Working on some kind of homework, coding stuff, I don't know. Sent me away, told me I disturb her.”

“That's what you get for dating a smart woman.” she grinned.

“Hey, wouldn't change a thing.” Eric replied.

“Whoa, she does a great body!” the other suddenly piped in and Penny could see and hear that he was very drunk.

“You need to excuse Marcus, he gets quite loud when drunk.” Eric said.

“That's okay.” Penny replied and wondered where she had heard that name before.

“Come on babe, lets dance. Shake your great-looking ass for me.” Marcus shouted and tried to grab Penny's arm but was held away by Eric.

“I'm so sorry.” Eric said and turned to his friend. “Marcus, she has a boyfriend.”

“What, that guy behind her?” Marcus asked baffled and Penny could almost feel Leonard rolling his eyes. “What is she doing with a guy like that? A woman like this needs to be with a real man.”

“I am with a real man!” Penny shouted. “He's more man than you.”

“He's a boy!” Marcus shouted back.

“And you are a misogynist.” Leonard said calmly.

“A miso... Did he just insult me?” Marcus asked Eric.

“Seriously, just shut up.” Eric said. “Again, I'm so sorry Penny. If I had known...”

“You promised to to introduce her to me!” Marcus interrupted, getting progressively louder. “And I'm not leaving before you do!”

“Fine. Hi, I'm Penny. You're Marcus? Not nice to meet you.” Penny said, getting seriously pissed off. “See, we've been introduced. Now go away.”

“Do you think this is funny, bitch?” Marcus shouted again.

“You either leave them alone now or I will remove you from this establishment.” a very deep, diaphragm-shaking voice said from behind Penny. She saw Eric grab a now very silent Marcus and dragged him away without resistance.

“Hey Frank.” Leonard greeted the gargantuan bouncer and shook his hand. Penny had to suppress a laugh when she saw Franks giant hand completely envelop Leonard's before the same happened to her own.

“Hello, Doctor... I'm sorry, Leonard. Penny.”

“What are you doing here?” Leonard asked.

“Working. I need the money now.”

“Why?” Penny asked. “And how is Alice?”

“Pregnant.” the giant man replied with a sigh.

“I can guess by your sigh that it was unplanned.” Penny said.

“Yeah, latex malfunction.”

Penny had to smile at his description of a broken condom. That was one reason she took the pill, the other was, quite frankly, that it felt so much better without one. Although she had had her own pregnancy scare when she had been a few days late after having sex with Leonard during the time following her online gaming addiction, where she had forgotten to take the pill because she played three days straight without pausing. Luckily she hadn't gotten pregnant then.

“If you feel able to do it, go to Professor Brinkman, he is looking for a lab assistant who can lift heavy objects from time to time. Tell him I send you and if he needs a recommendation I will gladly give him one.” Leonard said.

“That would be great. I'll ask him tomorrow.” Frank said. “But I have to get back, enjoy your evening.”

“Lets go home.” Penny said, feeling Leonard's sour mood after the Marcus incident.

* * *

They had spent the whole drive back in uncomfortable silence. Penny knew that he was bothered by the bullshit Marcus had spewed even though it had only had strengthened her feelings for Leonard. And it had been nice to meet Frank again.

“You want to come in?” she asked after they had reached their floor.

“No, I better head to bed. You know, work tomorrow.”

“I can get up with you.”

“And have you cranky all day long?” he joked and Penny was glad to see him smile again.

“Hey!”

“No, seriously, you know how Sheldon gets when he doesn't find me in the morning.”

“Right.” she replied. “Okay, ignoring the last bit, I had a great time.”

“Me too.” he said and she kissed him hard, showing him that he was still the only man she wanted.

“Good night Penny.” he said and walked into his apartment.

“Good night, my love.” she whispered and went into her own. Before she could close the door, she heard the other door opening and soon enough Leonard was out in the hall again, walking towards her. “What's going on?”

“Ramona is still there. Sleeping on the couch.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. Did your offer to come in include spending the night?” he asked with a hopeful smile.

“Really, you had to ask?” she grinned and let him in. “You want some wine?”

“I'd love to but I think I really need to get to bed. I still need to get up early tomorrow.” he replied.

“Okay, then lets get ready for bed.” she said and dropped both her top and her skirt, stretching in front of him dressed only in a thong and bouncing lightly on her feet.

“Okay, you're jiggling your breasts again, you want something.” he said, looking at her longingly.

“What makes you think that?” she asked jokingly and walked past him, turning her upper body so that her breasts were gliding over his body and getting into her bedroom where she slowly took off her thong before disappearing into her bathroom.

They each took a shower and brushed their teeth and Leonard again more or less pushed her out of her own bathroom to do his ablutions. She grinned at his behavior and put on her pajamas shorts and a loose tank top. Although she wouldn't mind a repeat of earlier, she sensed that his was a bit too wound up because of the club incident. But if he initiated it, she would never say no.

She got into bed just as he exited the bathroom in his shorts, climbing into the bed and getting behind her. She molded her back to his chest and his arm went around his waist where she intertwined her fingers with his.

This was what she had tried to tell Cheryl. Even without the sex, she felt happy and content. Being in his arms, his hand on her stomach, his breath hitting her neck, she craved this kind of togetherness. She never slept like this with Kurt, not once in four years. Yet with Leonard the total opposite was true, on those occasions when they slept in the same bed, they were rarely apart.

“I hope you're not too upset about what happened in the bar.” she said and turned her head to him.

“I was at first. But then I realized that even if I am not as tall or athletic as that guy, I have something he doesn't.”

“And what is that?”

“You.” he said and the simplicity of that statement made Penny's heart melt.

“That's so sweet.” she said and kissed him.

“At the end of the day, I'm the one who can do this” he said and kissed her on the neck. “And this” he continued and cupped her breast. “And this” he went on and ran his hand over her butt. “And of course, having access to this” he finished and lifted her leg, putting his hand over her center, making Penny shiver in delight and anticipation.

“Don't stop there.” she said after he took his hand away.

“I'm always amazed how insatiable you are.” he grinned and put his hand back over her center, gently applying pressure.

“You're the one to talk. Remember last Wednesday?” she asked and both reminisced about the day they did it on and against practically every surface of her apartment.

“Yeah, that was a good day.” he replied, putting his hand over her front and pushing it under her shorts to touch her skin directly. “Wow, you really are ready.” he commented, finding her very moist.

“So are you.” she hissed as he found her nub, while she pressed her butt into him, feeling his hard manhood pressing against her.

“Can you blame me? Having a stunningly beautiful woman grind on me? Anyone would react to that.” he said and pushed his abdomen against her.

“Would you like it more if I were frigid, allowing sex only on special holidays?” she asked with a grin.

“Oh no, I rather prefer you like this. My body is yours to use.” he smiled back and pressed several kisses on her neck and shoulders.

“Really? So you can't say no if I want you to do me right now?”

“Say no to sex with you? Do you think I'm stupid? But I do have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Well, then we just have to hurry up, won't we.” she replied and turned them, bringing him on his back with her on top of him, her back to him.

She lifted her hips and pushed her pajama shorts down before lifting her legs up high to discard them completely. Unwilling to get out of his arms, she grabbed between her legs and opened the buttons on his shorts, pulling out his manhood and positioning it where it needed to be before pushing down, taking him in.

“Mmmmmh, I love this feeling of you inside me.” she moaned and started gyrating gently.

“You have no idea how amazing it feels for me, being inside you.” he said and took over the active part, pushing in and out.

He set a brisk pace, his hands still around her chest, holding her tight to him. He put his left hand between her legs and, like he did in the movie theater, started to rub in sync with his movements. It didn't take long for Penny to unravel but this time she didn't have to be quiet and squealed out her delight.

Leonard took both hands away from her body and put them on the headboard, pulling himself in an almost sitting position and took her with him. She took over the active part now, bouncing as best as her position allowed. He lifted her loose top over her breasts before putting his left hand back between her legs.

His other hand went to her right breast and started to caress it, his finger flicking over her erect nipple, causing Penny to hiss between her moans. She leaned back into his right side, giving him the opportunity to take her left nipple into his mouth, softly nipping it with his teeth and soothing it with his tongue.

She knew that this multi-pronged assault wouldn't make her last long. He once again proved that he had a knack for finding the exact pressure he needed to apply to give her the maximum amount of pleasure and all his ministrations combined had her climaxing loudly after only two minutes since he started this.

Instead of slowing down to let her ride it out, he increased his efforts, rubbing her faster, sucking her harder and pushing deeper into her by meeting her bounces with his thrusts. She could feel him almost coming, having learned enough about the signs to look for in his breathing. Penny helped him along by clenching her inner muscles, which in turn increased her own pleasure as well and just as Leonard spilled into her with a loud grunt, she climaxed a third time in under ten minutes.

With her still on top of him, Leonard slid back down into a horizontal position, his arms back around her body. Penny smiled widely, happiness coursing through her body. Although she had eventually initiated the sex, he had done the prep work without any hints from her and the whole thing had, as expected, not disappointed.

“That was... wow.” she exclaimed and extricated herself from him, taking a roll of paper towels and a box of wet wipes and giving him some so they could clean themselves up.

“I agree. You feel as amazing as on the first day.”

After cleaning themselves, Penny put her pajama shorts back on while Leonard buttoned up his shorts. She went back into her bed, their bodies molding together again with his right arm over her stomach and their fingers intertwined.

“Will you be staying here tomorrow too?” she asked.

“I hope so. But I'll be home pretty late.”

“Why?”

“It's Wednesday. That means Halo night, this time at Koothrapali's.”

“Oh, okay. I have only half a shift tomorrow but at least it's the lunch hours.”

“Good night Penny.”

“Good night, Leonard.”

She closed her eyes and felt him fall asleep behind her, his breathing evening out. She thought about the day and despite the missed opportunity to tell him how she felt, it still had been a great one if she excluded the run-in with that drunk asshole in the club. They had a nice date, sex in a movie theater, met Frank again and great sex at home.

Somehow she would tell him. Even if she had order a pilot to write it into the sky.

* * *

“Good morning, sweetie.” Penny said to Leonard who had just opened his eyes.

“Morning. That's a nice view when waking up.” he replied.

For some reason, Penny had woken up even before him, which was a first. After extricating herself from his grip, she had done her business in the bathroom and upon coming out, simply watched him sleep for a while. After a few minutes, he had turned on his back and Penny took that as an invitation to climb into bed again. She carefully laid down on his chest, her eyes watching his face as he slept and her hands gently playing with his hair.

Now, as they looked into each others eyes, Penny couldn't suppress a smile. Just being here, waking up with him, made her strangely giddy. She felt his arms at her side, his grip sending her the clear signal to pull herself up his body. She complied and soon their lips were connected, their tongues dancing a slow dance again.

She sat up and took off her top, smiling down at him. Leonard's hands immediately grabbed her breasts and started caressing them, a moan escaping his lips.

“I still can't believe how beautiful you are. I never get tired of seeing you take your shirt off.” he smiled and sat up to take one of her nipples into his mouth. But before Penny could do anything more but enjoy this, he pushed her off him with a curse.

“Shit.” he shouted and scrambled out of bed.

“What's wrong?” she asked, confused about his behavior.

“We didn't set the alarm. It's after nine already and I should be at work.”

“What? How come Sheldon didn't knock?”

“Ramona probably took him, she did sleep on our couch last night.”

She watched him run around in her apartment and grinned at his attempts to hurry up. She laughed out loud, when he put his shirt on, inside out at first and then backwards. His pants weren't cooperating either and while he fought with a stuck zipper, she got up, put on her robe and started the coffee machine.

Shortly before the coffee was done, he finally came out of the bedroom, gave her a quick kiss and ran out of the apartment. He had about fifteen minutes to get to work. Still grinning, Penny sat down on her couch and spent her morning watching TV until she had to leave for work herself.

* * *

Thanks to a packed restaurant, Penny had to work longer than planned but got amazing tips, her night before making her extraordinarily happy. A few of her colleagues got envious again at seeing her getting huge tips for basically the same work they did but apart from the males, everybody knew why she was so happy.

Now she was exiting her car again, walking towards her building with a spring in his step. She was looking forward to spending more time with Leonard and hoped he would either be home already or come over once he was. Just as she entered the building, the postman was exiting it.

“Excuse me, are you S. Cooper?” the man asked.

“No, he's my neighbor, why?” she replied.

“I have a package but nobody's home. Could you take it?”

“Sure.” she said and signed for the package. As an added bonus, she knew now that Leonard wasn't home yet.

She entered her apartment and put the package down before making herself some more coffee. While she waited for it, she took of her uniform and changed into some long corduroy pants and an orange top. As soon as the coffee was ready, she grabbed it and the piece of cheesecake she had lifted from work and sat down on her couch. After an hour of reading a magazine, she grabbed her phone to write a message to her sweetie.

**Hey. You still at work? I had hoped we could spend the evening together :-x**

**Not yet, but I just parked my car in front of the building. And remember, we're having Halo night, so I'm basically only home a minute before heading out again**

**Too bad. I accepted a package for Sheldon**

**Try it. He should be home. Ramona is most likely there too**

**Will do :-x**

Penny put down her phone and grabbed the package before heading out into the hallway. She knocked on the door and opened it without waiting.

“Hey, this package came for y…” she started but stopped when she saw the scene in front of her. Sheldon was sitting in his usual seat, typing on his laptop. He had one foot is in a foot spa while Ramona was doing a pedicure on the other. Both turned their heads towards her at the same time, something Penny found mildly disconcerting.

“Dr. Cooper is working.” Ramona started.

“Yes, I’m close to a breakthrough. Ooh, it tickles.” Sheldon added, the last part directed to the redhead.

“Sorry.” Penny said and put the package down before quickly leaving. She closed the door and leaned against it, trying to get the image out of her head. _“_ Holy crap on a cracker.” she groaned as she continued to try to comprehend what was going on in there.

“Hey, Penny.” Leonard's voice greeted her from the stairwell and even the presence of her loved one couldn't shake the feeling of shock and awe.

“Hi. You know, you probably don’t want to go in there.” she stammered.

“Why? What are they doing?”

“You know, the only way I could explain it would be in a therapist’s office with dolls.” she said and walked into her apartment, still too grossed out to even ask him to come with her. But hey, maybe he would be knocking on her door anyway in a few seconds.

“Come in.” Penny said after she heard a few knocks on her door. Sure enough, Leonard entered, looking as flustered as she felt.

“That was a disturbing sight.” he said and she simply nodded. “And worse than that, she forbade him to come to Halo night and he acquiesced.”

“Really? Wow, she has power over him.”

“Yeah, but now Halo night is more or less ruined, we can't play teams with three people.”

“What about me?” she asked.

“For real? You want to play Halo with us?”

“Why not? It was fun the last time I played with you guys, even if this time I won't get to beat Sheldon.”

“Well, my girlfriend wants to play Halo with me and my friends, who am I to say no.” he said and walked towards her door.

“Wait, I need to change first.”

“Why? You look great in that outfit.”

“I know.” she replied and smiled. “But I don't really want to have Howard and Raj ogle my cleavage, even if it's barely showing. So I'll change into something more loose fitting.”

“Oh, okay.” he said and Penny could hear the disappointment in his voice.

“Cheer up, you know what's underneath these clothes. And you are welcome to touch them.” she stated and took off her top, throwing it on her bed.

“Okay.” he replied and stepped behind her, his hands snaking around her body to cup and caress her breasts.

“Leonard, I didn't mean now!”

“You didn't say that.”

“Yeah yeah, get out now, or else we're going to be very late. I'm almost done.” she said and grabbed the Nebraska jersey hanging in her closet.

They went out and down the stairs, getting into Leonard's car. As they drove, Penny kept looking at him, a scenario repeating itself in her mind. She kept thinking about the pros an cons, but kept coming up less and less reasons not to do it, just for the heck of it.

She put her hand on his leg and started moving it up and down, going more and more towards his groin area. She heard his breath hitch a bit and imagined how he was currently tenting his pants. She dared to look down and saw her hunch realized. She put her hand over it directly and pushed down gently, feeling it hard beneath the fabric.

“Penny, as much as I like what you are doing, I'm driving.” he said and tried to keep his face forward.

“What? I'm not doing anything bad, am I?”

“No, but it's kind of distracting.”

“Too bad. I thought of bending my body down and give you a little treat with my tongue. But you declined my offer.”

“Wait, that sounds good.”

“Too bad, you said no.”

“This is revenge for the times I did that, right?”

“Maybe.” she grinned and kissed him on the cheek.

Luckily for Leonard, the drive took only five more minutes. They stepped out of the car and into Raj's building, walking up the one flight of stairs to his floor. Leonard knocked at his door and the Indian soon opened the door.

“Hey guys, come on iiiiii...” Raj started and ended the sentence in a high-pitched wail upon seeing Penny.

“Raj, go get a sip of beer.” she said and entered the apartment, nodding a hello to Howard who lifted his eyebrows questioningly.

“Ramona forbade Sheldon to come, so Penny offered to take his spot.” Leonard told the engineer.

“Penny? She can play Halo?”

“You have no idea dude.” Raj said after taking a sip of beer. “When you were hooking up with that Christie girl, she kicked our asses at Halo.”

“That's right boys, lock and load.” she said and grabbed one of the controllers from the table. Leonard sat down next to her and soon enough, the four of them were busy killing each other.

* * *

After a fun evening of cursing, shooting and dying, although Penny didn't die once, they drove home again. As they pulled up on their parking lot, Penny saw that the lights out in the guys' apartment. They walked up the stairs in silence until they reached their floor.

“Sheldon must be in bed already.” she said.

“Seems like it. Hopefully Ramona has gone home for a change.”

“If not, you are always welcome in my bed.” she grinned.

“Thanks. But tonight I should sleep in my bed because there is a department meeting tomorrow, so I have to be at the university at seven in the morning. Unless you want to get up at six with me.”

“Good night Leonard.” she said and put her arms around his neck, kissing him forcefully. Although they did that for several minutes, it ended way too soon for her liking. She was almost tempted to get him back so she could have her way with him again, but the thought about getting up at six won over and she went to bed alone.

* * *

The following days went by in a blur. Ramona kept staying at the guys' apartment, pushing Sheldon to do nothing but work while continuing to care for his every need. A pizza night on Thursday was moved into her apartment, when Ramona was first using a pumice stone on his feet, which they could have overlooked, but when she started to cut his toenails and one fell into Leonard's slice, they quickly left them alone.

On Saturday, the boys had originally planned to go to the paintball range but again, Ramona didn't let Sheldon go. Penny was touched when they knocked at her door to ask her if she wanted to come instead, but unfortunately she had to work that day, so she couldn't go. She promised them to come with them at some point, because shooting them for real with a fake gun sounded like fun. And she was looking forward to shooting some paint balls into Sheldon's butt.

At least the continued presence of Ramona distracted Sheldon completely from paying any attention to Leonard, where he was after his work day or where he slept. A fact they used to their advantage by spending as much time together as possible without Sheldon interrupting them. After the guys had finished playing war, Leonard had come back and stayed in his apartment only long enough to change into his usual clothes and pack an overnight bag before he knocked on Penny's door. One look at his bag and Penny knew exactly what he wanted. She had let him in without a word and they had spent a romantic evening, drinking wine and essentially just fooling around.

Now it was Sunday morning and Penny was busy bouncing up and down, yelling out her pleasure as she rode Leonard hard. He had woken her at nine the way only he could, by licking her roughly to an orgasm and quickly to several more. That had been ten minutes ago. Penny had decided to pay him back by doing his favorite position, getting on top and staying there.

After ten more minutes, Leonard climaxed under her. He grabbed her upper body and pulled her close, kissing her hard while he pumped his hips hard up and down while he rode out his own orgasm.

They took a shower together, as they usually did after sex, and did their bathroom routine. When Penny exited the bathroom, still naked, she saw Leonard already fully dressed and making the bed.

“Hey. I was thinking, you want to go to a brunch?”

“Really? Where?”

“I don't know, I'm sure there are a few places that offer them. But I'd rather not eat breakfast at my place, who knows what I will find in my breakfast cereal.”

“Good point, let me get dressed.”

“Okay, I'll watch.”

“Since you just satisfied me immensely, I will allow that.” she grinned and grabbed a pair of panties. She took out a short red skirt and put that on as well.

“Wow, your legs look amazing in that skirt.”

“I know, right?”

“I mean, they look even better when they are wrapped around my head or my waist, but still...”

“Really? Then you have something to look forward to when we come back.” she grinned and took her top, a dark pink one with a white flower motif. She pulled it up and bound the strap behind her neck before turning to Leonard.

“So, what do you think?”

“Wow. You look so hot.”

“Thanks. I chose this one because you only need to pull open the neck strap and it falls down.”

Before Leonard could say anything, they heard the distinguished combination of three knocks followed by her name being repeated thrice. They froze, knowing that Sheldon was outside. She shooed Leonard into her bedroom and mentioned for him to be quiet. Although she didn't care if Sheldon finally deduced that they were a couple, she didn't want him to take Leonard with him on whatever harebrained scheme he had planned now. After making sure that Leonard was out of sight, she opened the door.

“Sheldon, I’ve told you, it’s a small apartment, you only have to knock one time.” she told him.

“Please, please, I don’t have a lot of time. Look, Ramona is still asleep and I need you to help me get rid of her.” the physicist bluntly said.

“Get rid of her how?” she said slowly, not getting what he was going for.

“I don’t know, but apparently I’m in some kind of relationship, and you seem to be an expert at avoiding them.”

“Excuse me?”

“You had one date with Leonard and it went nowhere and even despite his repeated overnight stays on your couch, he never came back bragging about achieving coitus with you.”

“Seriously Sheldon...” she started.

“Dr. Cooper?!” the voice of Ramona interrupted her from inside his apartment.

“Hide me.” he pleaded. “I formally request sanctuary.”

“Why aren’t you working?” Ramona asked after coming out into the hallway.

“Um… she distracted me.” he told her, while pointing to Penny. “I told you, Penny, I don’t have time for your nonsense, I have important things to do.” he added and returned to his apartment.

“Oh, man.” Penny said to herself and turned to get back into her own apartment.

“I know what’s going on here.” Ramona stated, stopping her.

“Really? Well, then will you explain it to me?” Penny asked exasperated. She'd really like to know what went on between the two of them.

“You’re in love with Dr. Cooper.” came Ramona's insight and Penny's mind went blank.

“Uh, yeah, no, that’s not it.”

“Don’t try to deny it. He’s a remarkable man, but you have to let him go.”

“Oh, gee, okay.” she said, hoping that this would be enough to make Ramona leave.

“I know it’s hard, but he’s a gift to the whole world, and we can’t be selfish.”

“Yeah, he’s a gift all right.”

“Sisters?” Ramona asked and lifted up her pinky finger.

“Um, sure, sisters.” Penny replied and linked her own with hers after which _Ramona left. “_ Holy crap on a cracker.” she mused and went back inside.

“Wow, that was something.” Leonard said, coming out of the bedroom.

“You heard all that?”

“Yeah. Poor guy. But he invited it.”

“Shouldn't we do something to help him?”

“We could. Or we could go get something to eat and then have some more alone time with each other.”

“Lets go!” she said and grabbed his hand, pulling him out of her apartment.

* * *

He had been right, the brunch had been a great idea. They had eaten a very tasty meal and kept talking about nothing in particular. Suddenly she had realized that almost four hours had gone by. She was once more floored by the fact that spending time with Leonard was such a great thing that time flew by faster than with any other activity, with the possible exception of sex.

After Leonard had paid for their brunch, they had left the restaurant and took a long walk around the park, enjoying the afternoon sun. It was quite warm and Penny was glad to have chosen an outfit that showed a lot of skin, especially after receiving envious looks from other girls. Leonard too basked in the envy when guys looked at the couple, most of them wondering how he got a girl like that.

They had gone on the grass and after Leonard had put his hoodie on the ground, he had sat down on it and leaned back against a tree. Penny had at first sat down in front of him with her back against his chest and his arms around her waist but that had only lasted ten minutes because after that she couldn't resist anymore and turned around, straddling his waist and connected their lips in a heated battle.

It took the efforts of a police officer on foot patrol to break them apart for fear that they would start having sex in a public park. They had grabbed his jacket and walked back to his car, driving home in silence. After walking up the stairs, she hadn't given him any choice of thinking about where to go and simply pulled him into her apartment. She desperately wanted to continue what they were doing in the park and had pushed him on the couch, straddled him again and molded her lips to his again.

After kissing for hours, they had fallen asleep on her couch and in the morning, Penny had to agree with Sheldon that it was quite uncomfortable to sleep on, even with Leonard under her acting as a mattress. She had dragged the both of them into the bathroom for a shower before they got dressed, since both had to go to work that morning.

“Are you doing something tonight?” he asked her as she put on the skirt of her uniform.

“Not really. After work I come home, shower, change and go to my agent. Then home again. Why?”

“I don't know. I thought we could go to dinner. I enjoyed yesterday tremendously.”

“Me too. And dinner sounds nice. And since we fell asleep yesterday, today I will give you a double ration of sex.” she grinned.

“That's something to look forward to.” he replied and both left her apartment to go to work.

Work was uneventful and her appointment with her agent pretty much the same. At least she could look forward to some more alone time with Leonard, something she had so much lately but still thought it was too little. This strengthened her conviction that her feelings for Leonard were genuine and not brought on by the amazing sex they were having since they didn't have any yesterday and she still would give anything to repeat that day.

As she walked up the last few stairs to her floor, the door to 4A opened and Ramona stormed out, her face filled with both betrayal and fury.

“Oh, hey, hi.” Penny greeted the woman.

“Oh, bite me!” Ramona shouted and stormed down the stairs.

“Sisters?” Penny asked sarcastically, holding up her pinky finger before getting into her apartment.

**What happened to Ramona?** she texted Leonard.

**Sheldon finished his work and she wanted him to share credit. Once he heard that, he simply told her to get out**

**Is he that selfish?**

**Yep. Unfortunately, I can't come over tonight. He made me look over his work while he submits his preliminary paper**

**Aw, too bad. And I'm sitting here in a green dress without a bra under it ;)**

**You're mean :(**

**So? Punish me :-p**

**Oh, I will. You just watch out. Keep the rubber band handy next time**

Giggling, she decided to watch a movie before going to bed. As she was lying in bed, she kept thinking about Leonard and what he might do to her regarding his punishment. It didn't really matter, since she would be agreeing to anything he wanted. With pictures of him pounding her from behind running through her head, she fell into a restless and aroused sleep.

The following morning, she was awakened by the buzzing of her phone, indicating an incoming message. She opened it and saw that it was from Leonard again. With a smile, she opened it and read its contents.

**The whole thing is repeating itself**

**What do you mean?** she texted back.

**We just had breakfast in the cafeteria and a girl approached Sheldon, wanting to pick his brain over his paper. She's bringing a pizza tonight**

**Really? And he didn't turn her away?**

**All he understood was the fact that he's getting a free pizza tonight**

**What will happen now?**

**Does your offer still stand?**

**Which one?**

**The one offering me your bed if I need it**

**Yes, why?**

**I intend to spend as much time away from Sheldon as long as that girl is around. And I hoped to spend that time with you**

**Hell yes**

**Good :) I bring Thai food.**

**Great. I get the wine**

**And don't forget to take out the rubber band ;)**

Getting hot and giggling with anticipation, Penny started cleaning her apartment, putting the rubber band on the night stand next to her bed. As far as she was concerned, that new girl could occupy Sheldon for weeks to come.

* * *

**I use this as a stopping point, otherwise I will never finish writing this chapter ^^**

**Review please :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Wow, Chapter 20. Somewhat of a milestone. When I wrote the first chapter, I never imagined it would get that far. And as if to celebrate the fact, the chapter has become my longest yet, clocking out at over 16000 words O.o**

**Still, enjoy :)**

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going. **

* * *

"Ugh, I feel so bloated and ugly." Penny whined at the screen where the face of her boyfriend broke out in a smile. "And why are you smiling?"

"Oh, it's just... nothing." Leonard replied.

"Tell me!" she ordered.

"I just don't understand it. You're still beautiful. So your emotional perception of yourself doesn't match your outward appearance."

"Right now I want to punch you."

"Really? Then I guess I'm lucky to be in a basement lab several miles away. And that tonight me and the guys have board game night, although Sheldon didn't say what we're playing tonight." he grinned.

"That's not funny. You guys are so lucky not to have a period."

"No argument there. But this time is worst than I have ever seen you. Normally you're just aroused. Or to be more precise, more aroused than usual."

"And I still am. I want nothing more than rip your clothes off and ravish you. But knowing that we can't, I feel like... ugh."

"I know. But only two more days, right?"

"Yeah. Mark my words, on Wednesday night I will ride you HARD.” she yelled out the last word and leaned back into her couch.

“While I welcome a promise like this, I'm kinda getting scared a bit.” Leonard said a bit apprehensive.

“Don't worry, I won't bite... hard.” she grinned into the camera.

“Penny, it's after two already.”

“So?”

“I thought you needed to be at work at three.”

“CRAP!” she shouted when she saw the time and jumped up.

“Bye Penny.” Leonard said and the connection was severed.

“Bye Leonard. Love you.” she said but didn't even realize that she just said that. Unfortunately, Leonard didn't hear her more or less reflexive declaration of love.

* * *

“Wow Penny, you're really mean to some customers today.” Cheryl commented after joining her in the break room of the Cheesecake Factory.

“Ugh, these guys were jerks. You should have heard some of their comments to me.” Penny replied.

“They weren't worse than some others we all have gotten.”

“I know. But I'm just so frustrated lately.” Penny sighed.

“Why?”

“I'm having my period?”

“And?”

“And I'm horny. But knowing that I can't have sex with Leonard makes me want to hit anybody around me. I felt that way during every period but this time it's worse than ever before.”

“Might be you're spoiled after your week of sex. Let me give you some advice, while I move out of your arms reach. Go to your boyfriend and just do it.”

“Are you crazy? I have done that once during high school. And as much as I would want to do it right now, having blood on your sheets is something I don't want. And I think Leonard would find that gross as well, given that a piece of him would be inside me.”

“Then use a condom.”

“That doesn't solve the problem with the sheets.”

“Then do what I do when I'm overcome with arousal during my downtime. You suggested it to him once too, remember?”

“Oh god. Anal sex? To tell you the truth, I'm curious about that but not really ready for it.” Penny said.

“Well, I like it. But if you are that horny, just grab him, use a condom and do it in the bathtub in the water.”

“That's a somewhat better idea even if it's still gross. I might even do that if I can't hold myself back tonight or tomorrow.”

“Do that or you won't get any tips. But now, brake's over, lets get back to work.” Cheryl said and got up, Penny following behind her.

* * *

After the shift had finally ended, with Penny getting at least a few decent tips thanks to her tables being frequented by nice and courteous families, she went home and took a much needed shower. Using her loofah on her body, it brought back her arousal for even the slightest touch on her sensitive spots made her shiver. She desperately wanted Leonard inside her but her disgust for doing it during her period made her stop herself. Although Cheryl's suggestions, both of them, became more and more acceptable.

After finishing her shower and drying off, she put on some panties and a bra before donning some blue sweatpants that still hugged her curves and a dark violet top with push buttons in front, one she had used to get Leonard hot once by having those buttons open, revealing her cleavage. She sat down on her couch and started the TV. Since the guys were busy playing some game, she could watch America's Next Top Model. But to her dismay, all she got was static on almost every channel.

“What the hell?” she mused and grabbed her phone, dialing the number of her cable provider. After telling the automatic voice her personal information, she spent a few minutes on hold, listening to the worst music in the world until she finally got a real person on the line.

“Charter Communications, my name is Lindsay Smith, how may I help you?” the woman on the other line said.

“Yes, I wanted to ask if you have a glitch in your system, I get nothing but static.”

“No, everything is in order on our end. Wait a minute.” the woman said and Penny could hear the telltale clicking of fingers on a keyboard. “I see now. Your cable bill hasn't been paid for the month.”

“But I sent a check.” Penny lied.

“According to my data, we only got a post-dated check that we understandably had to reject. If you made another attempt, please check your bank statement. If it is notified there, you can send us a copy and we will clear you access again. Until then, there's nothing I can do, I'm sorry.”

“Fine. Goodbye.” Penny said and hung up the phone. 'Great. Now what.' she thought and immediately got up. As far as she knew, her neighbors still had cable and if they dared to stop her using their TV, they would get an earful. She quickly exited her apartment and walked the short distance to 4A, not even knocking in the door before entering.

“Hey, guys, I need to use your TV.” she told the group who was sitting around the table, playing a game with some stones with symbols on it and notepads.

“What’s wrong with your TV?” Sheldon asked her.

“I don’t know, I’m only getting a bunch of static.” she replied and grabbed their remote, switching on the TV.

“Did you pay your cable bill?” Howard asked in a voice that said that he knew the answer already.

“You sound just like the cable company.” she huffed at him, her mood still sour because of her state. “All right, quiet now, Tyra Banks is about to kick someone off America’s Next Top Model.”

“Excuse me, Penny, but we’re playing Klingon Boggle.” Sheldon said, much to Leonard's dismay.

“Aw!” her boyfriend whined, holding his head.

“What do you mean, aw? Like she didn’t know we were nerds?” Howard asked Leonard.

And he was right, Penny did know that they were nerds. It was one of the things for which she loved Leonard. His nerdy side a cute quality but it made him also kind of a mystery to her since he became such a passionate man in the bedroom and a romantic with her when they were alone.

“All right, if you must watch, then mute it with closed captions, please.” Sheldon ordered.

“Fine.” Penny acquiesced and did as he told, muting the TV and activating close captioning.

“All right, Boggle warriors, kapla’!” Sheldon said and turned the little hourglass before writing furiously while the other three, Leonard included, stared at the women on the TV. Something that made Penny frown slightly, seeing her sweetie almost ogling other women, even when they were on TV and unreachable for him.

“Look at those women.” Howard cooed.

“They’re gorgeous.” Leonard added and earned himself a look from Penny, which he didn't see.

“Oh! Worf, nice! Too bad that’s a proper noun.” Sheldon put in, still writing.

“Oh, look, there’s the future Mrs. Wolowitz. No, wait, that’s the future Mrs. Wolowitz. With her head in the lap of, what a coincidence. It’s the future Mrs. Wolowitz.” Howard proudly said, almost giggling.

“Yeah, and they can all move in with you and your mother. The current Mrs. Wolowitz.” Leonard set him straight and got a smile from Penny.

“Is qochbe’ spelled with a chhh or a cho?” Sheldon grunted.

“Why is that Mrs. Wolowitz crying?” came from Howard again.

_'Wow, he has some demented fantasies, if he thinks he would have a chance with any of those girls.'_ she thought. “Oh. That’s Anais, none of the other girls in the house like her.”

“House? What house?”

“They all live in a house together.” she clarified.

“A house, where?”

“I don’t know. Somewhere in L.A.”

“Wait a minute.” he paused. “You’re telling me that I’m within driving distance of a house filled with aspiring supermodels?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“And they live together and shower together and have naked pillow fights?” he asked and that did it for her. She got up and walked towards the door.

“Hey, where are you going?” Leonard asked her.

“To pay my cable bill.” she huffed, grossed out by Howard's behavior, and left the apartment.

After she had flopped down on her couch, she sighed loudly and took out her checkbook, preparing one to bring it to the bank tomorrow before she had to go to work. How was Howard doing this all the time? You watch something as innocent as a show about aspiring models and he makes it creepy.

Her mood was still sour thanks to her current state and of course the non-availability of sexual release, at least with Leonard. She didn't want to do it herself, something she used to do until Leonard had told her that waiting for her made the eventual resuming of intercourse even better.

At least it would be over tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest and she could fulfill her promise to ride Leonard hard. Oh, how she needed him and not just his body. She wanted to be at his side but the presence of Howard made that impossible to bear. She decided to watch a movie on DVD to pass some time before she would head to bed.

**Sorry about Howard** a text from Leonard interrupted her after almost two hours.

**That's okay. He's just a creep**

**Just so you know, he hatched a plan with Raj to find the house of the models**

**How?**

**I don't know. But he's determined and horny, two things that don't make a good combination**

**Even if he finds it, they won't let him in there. And even if he somehow does get in there, none of those women would want someone like him**

**Yeah. That's why I'm not participating. I wouldn't have a chance either**

**That's the reason?**

**Oh, no, of course not. You're the reason. I have you, so I have my supermodel already**

**Nice save ;) Don't forget who lets you stick your manhood into her**

**I haven't forgotten, even if we're on forced hiatus right now**

**Two more days and I will have my way with you!**

**Can't wait ;)**

**Lets see if you still have that sentiment after I'm through with you ;)**

**Almost makes me want to come over now ^^**

**Almost?**

**Well, you did threaten me with bodily harm this morning**

**That was just talking. Can't you come over? I would really love some alone time**

**Okay. Let me just put on my robe, I was in bed already, reading. Be over in a minute**

Penny put the phone down and waited for a minute. True to his words, a minute later a knock announced the arrival of her boyfriend at her doorstep.

“Come in.” she shouted and the door opened to reveal her sweetie, dressed in his robe and at least a white shirt that she could see the top of.

“Hey. I hope you're not still in that bad mood from earlier after Howard's comments.” he said and closed the door, walking towards the couch.

“No, but I'm still not happy. I need you bad but I know I can't have you right now and it really pisses me off.”

“Well, if you hadn't scared that Kathy girl away by telling her that Sheldon doesn't share credit, we could have had another week together.” he grinned.

“Ugh, shut up. But I admit, not my finest move.”

“Only two more days and you're open for business again.” he smiled at her.

“Gee, how romantic that sounds.” she replied deadpan.

“Sorry, you know what I mean.”

“I know. Also, Cheryl told me that I did offer you, as you put it, access to my backdoor.” she winked.

“Uh, do you want that?”

“Not really, at least not now. Why, do you?”

“If I said no, I'd be lying because I do am curious. But as I said before, I will never pressure you into doing that.”

“Thanks. She made another suggestion. Using a condom and the bathtub.”

“I see. But I don't have any condoms.”

“Me neither. So that suggestion is already moot. And please, sit down, I won't hit you, I promise.” she said and Leonard followed her orders, after standing in the living room the entire time he had been inside her apartment.

As Leonard sat, Penny watched him. She drank in his features, his hair she liked to play with, his visible legs, his chest that she liked to have her hands on while riding him. Without saying a word, she slung her left leg over his lap and straddled him, bringing her arms around his neck and kissing him hard. He didn't hesitate and brought his own hands around her waist, his tongue matching hers in ferocious movement.

She felt him get hard under her, the situation not helped by the grinding movements she made as she always did when straddling and kissing him. She lifted herself a bit and opened his robe before pressing down again, feeling him through his shorts and her sweatpants. Her movements got harder and faster and she started moaning into his mouth.

“Uh, Penny...” Leonard started after separating their lips.

“Shhh.” she quieted him. “Let me do this please.”

She kissed him again and increased her speed even further, her moist center rubbing over his manhood through their clothes. He lifted her shirt up and his hands went to her front, grabbing her breasts and starting to caress them. She opened her bra and he pulled it off her, his hands coming in direct contact with her erect nipples, expertly flicking and rubbing them, causing her to moan louder.

He pushed her away from him and took her left nipple into his mouth, nipping at it and soothing it with his tongue, causing more hissing of pleasure from her while she continued to dry-ride him hard. She felt the climax that she had, for days, yearned for rapidly approaching and doubled her efforts. She ground hard on him, making her couch creak and suddenly, as if someone had flicked a switch, she groaned loud as she came and her hips lost her coherent movement in favor of uncontrolled twitching.

“Wow. That's the first time we did that.” Leonard said, his head still between her breasts, lightly kissing the valley between them.

“I know. But seriously, I don't know how you manage to wait a week when I'm having my period.”

“I just think about how great it will feel once we can do it again.”

“I'm sorry that I can't do that too.” she said and buried her head in his shoulder.

“You don't need to. If you need me for a release like that, I'll gladly be of service.”

“You're not disappointed?”

“Don't be silly, why should I? There are a lot worse things in the world than seeing you on top of me in the throes of pleasure.” he grinned.

Leonard leaned to the side and pulled Penny with him until they were both prone on her couch with her on top of him. She put her head on his chest and gave a content sigh, her sexual need satisfied for the time being. She still wanted him inside her, desperately so, but now she was sure that she could wait two more days without having to resort to the things Cheryl suggested.

“Leonard?”

“Yeah?”

“When do you have to get up tomorrow?”

“Seven-thirty, why?”

“Does it have to be that early?”

“Unfortunately yes. We have to go at eight-thirty and since Sheldon uses the bathroom at eight-twenty, I have to use it before, both for shower and ablutions.”

“He uses it at the same time every day?”

“Like clockwork. Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if you could sleep here. I want to spend the night in your arms.”

“Come on.” Leonard said and pushed her off him before getting up himself.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her into her bedroom. He took off the comforter and dropped his robe before getting into bed. Penny just looked at him as he got comfortable.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing. I just thought about how surprising that came.”

“I can go again, if you want to.” he said and winked at her.

“Oh no, you stay right there. I'll get ready for bed.” she said and went into her bathroom.

She quickly discarded her pants, shirt and panties, her bra still out in the living room where Leonard had thrown it. She took off her makeup and after doing her ablutions, washed her body and changed the tampon. After brushing her teeth, she went back out into the bedroom and was met by a smiling Leonard.

“What?” she asked as she grabbed her pajama shorts.

“Oh nothing. I just thought how crazy you must be thinking that you are ugly and bloated.” he grinned. “You are so beautiful.”

She looked down at herself and smiled. Even with her feeling bloated and ugly, his four simple words made her feel better immediately. She put on the shorts and a loose white shirt and climbed into his open arms, pressing her back against his chest. His arms went around her and held her tight and she released a loud sigh.

This was what she wanted every day. Somehow she needed to find the courage to tell Leonard that she loved him. Either she really had to write it down or drink enough to tell him during an inebriated state. But she never wanted to let him go again. During nights like this, with or without sex, when she was able to sleep in his arms, he felt happy, content and safe.

“Penny? What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Not much, going to work, then to the bank to pay my cable bill, then home. Why?”

“Want to have dinner with us? We're doing Burger take-out. If you want, I can order you something too. Then you can come over and we'll watch the model show again.”

“Really? You want to watch that show?”

“Yeah, we became kind of hooked. Except Sheldon of course. Howard and Raj are determined to find out where the house is.”

“How would they achieve that?”

“Using the exterior shots and its landmarks around it.”

“I can understand Howard and his libido and maybe Raj. But why do you want to watch it?”

“Uh... fine, I also want to see the women. But I have no plans to find the house or visit them. I have you, so I don't need any of them. Nor do I want them.”

“Right answer.” she said and turned her head to kiss him. “But I'll gladly come over, since I still don't have cable back.”

“Then it's a plan.” Leonard said and settled into his sleeping position, one arm under his head, the other around her waist with her fingers intertwined with his. “Good night Penny.”

“Good night, Leonard.”

* * *

The next morning, Penny was awakened by the sound of her shower running. She opened her eyes and saw that she was alone in her bed, Leonard being in the bathroom if the sound was any indicator. The shower stopped and she could hear him move around in there, probably drying himself off and putting on his clothes again.

He came out and looked at her with a smile, an expression her face mirrored. She felt much better today, her climax yesterday and the impending end to their sexual hiatus being a massive improvement to her mood.

“Morning, sweetie.” she said sleepily. “What time is it? And how long have you been up?”

“It's almost eight-twenty. And about thirty minutes. I made some coffee and toast. I put the coffee into a thermos flask again in case you want to go to sleep some more.”

“Thank you.” she said, her heart melting at his thoughtfulness.

“Always. Can't have you drink cold coffee, can't I?” he smiled and turned to leave.

“Hey wait, you forgot something.”

“What?”

“Come here.”

Leonard went to her and she grabbed his robe, pulling him down. She slung her arms around his neck and kissed him hard, letting her tongue play inside his mouth. After two minutes, Leonard extricated himself from her, albeit reluctantly.

“As much as I want to continue, I really need to leave.”

“Okay.” she replied sadly. “See you tonight.”

“Yeah, see you.” he said and gave her a quick peck on the lips before leaving her apartment. She turned around once more and moved more to the middle. Putting her head into her pillow, she took a deep breath and smiled when she smelled his scent on her sheets.

* * *

After another hour of leisurely lying around, she got up and did her bathroom routine. After fifteen minutes, she went into her kitchen area and grabbed the cold toast and still hot coffee from the thermos flask and had her own breakfast.

_ 'Next time I should get up with Leonard, so we can have breakfast together.'  _ she thought as she ate the toast. A small part of her brain was freaked out at the notion of the domesticity of a shared breakfast, or rather, it was freaked out by the fact that Penny had no problems whatsoever doing that. She booted up her laptop and saw that Leonard was online at his workstation again. She once more wasted no time in calling him, a call that was accepted almost immediately.

“Hey sweetie.” she said to him after his face appeared on the screen, complete in scientist mode with protective glasses on.

“Hey. Missed me already?” he replied grinning.

“Yes. Next time you make breakfast, wake me so we can have it together.”

“Really? I tried that once and you almost hit me.”

“Come on, that was a reflex because it was even before seven in the morning. If it's after seven, you can do it.”

“I remember you punching Sheldon in the throat for knocking at eight-thirty.”

“That was different.” she tried to defend herself.

“How?”

“First of all, it was a Saturday. Second of all, you kept me awake until three in the morning.”

“I didn't hear you complain. Quite the opposite.”

“Sweetie, when it comes to sex with you, I'll gladly do it all night long.”

“Glad to hear it.” he grinned.

“So, what are you doing right now?”

“Shooting a laser at different forms of material to find out their reflective qualities and resistances. It's part of a military project to find materials resistant to focused heat. It's like playing a video game right now, I have my hand on a joystick, moving the laser around.”

“You're cute when you are nerdy like this.”

“Good. Makes it easier for me to seduce you.”

“So far you haven't needed a big effort. Remember, sometimes just a touch is enough.”

“Same goes for you. You don't even need to touch me, getting naked is enough.”

“You mean like this?” she asked and opened her robe to reveal her naked breasts. She could see a bright flash on the screen, followed by massive cursing.

“Shit!”

“What happened?” she inquired and closed her robe again.

“Are you crazy? You can't just open your robe like this when I'm manually controlling a high energy laser. I accidentally shot a hole in the wall.” he said.

“Oh, I'm sorry.”

“The tone of your voice suggests otherwise.”

“Then punish me.” he said and poked out her tongue.

“I might do that. You're done tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. So, how about you come over, we have a nice dinner for two, followed by a few hours of... dessert.”

“A few hours? Getting needy, aren't we?” he grinned.

“I just want you. So bad. And you big buddy doesn't have to all the work, you do have other means.”

“Is that a coded demand for me to lick you?” he smiled.

“Well, I certainly won't say no to that.”

“Okay. You want to be on top or on your back?”

“Lets decide that when we're doing it.” she grinned while simultaneously thinking about all the positions they would do that night. “By the way, did Sheldon finally figure out that you and I are more than just neighbors?”

“No, when I entered the apartment in my robe, he just assumed that I needed to use the bathroom quickly while he was in ours. He only expressed incredulity at the fact that you didn't punch me in the throat for waking you before eleven.”

“Seriously, I'll really have to kiss you on the lips while in his presence before he catches on to it, won't I?”

“Might not even be enough. You did that on my failed birthday party last year, remember? He just looked at it as your way of saying I'm sorry.”

“I'm not having sex with you in front of Sheldon!”

“Nor do I want that. Although Sheldon would most likely point out how unsanitary and unnecessarily loud it is.”

“He is some whackadoodle.”

“Yeah. But as he likes to say, he's not crazy because his mother had him tested.”

“She should have gotten a second opinion.” Penny said and emptied her coffee cup.

“Agreed. Okay, I think I need to redo my experiment. And make a note to get some plaster to repair the wall.” Leonard said and looked around in his lab.

“Is your hand on the laser controls now?” she asked.

“No, why?”

“Well, if you want, you can watch me get dressed.”

“Yes please.” he grinned.

Penny stood up slowly and stepped backwards, revealing her entire naked body to the camera lens. She grinned as she heard him groan when she turned around and bent down to pick up her panties. She slowly pulled them on and turned back to face him, giving him an ample view of her breasts. She equally slowly put on her bra, optimizing the presentation of her cleavage for his pleasure before putting on long denim pants and her blue short-sleeved shirt and flower-motif jacket.

“All done.” she proclaimed.

“Way too fast.” he commented.

“Oooh, sorry.” she said with fake sincerity. “I let you take it off again, okay?”

“Deal.” he grinned. “What are you doing today?”

“Nothing. I have the day off. Maybe I'll go to the gym to work on my stamina.”

“Isn't that something I would need to do?”

“Sweetie, the form of stamina you have can't be trained in a gym. During high school. I went out with a long-distance runner, in bed he was done in three minutes.”

“Telling me about the other guys you had sex with before me is so much a turn-on.” Leonard commented sarcastically.

“Sorry. What I mean is, you, Leonard Hofstadter, are amazing in bed and frankly, you don't need to train stamina, since you already have it. Remember our eight times during one night?”

“Oh yeah. That was both great and demanding. Luckily you did most of the work.”

“I could barely walk the next day.” Penny said and smiled at the memory.

“Same for me. But I gladly bore it.”

“Me too. I always wondered if we could repeat that night.”

“We could but only on a weekend when we both don't need to work the next day. I could let myself get banished again for a weekend. Then we could go to a nice hotel and not leave our room at all.” he grinned.

“Uuh, that sounds great.”

“Okay, I need to get back to my experiment now.”

“Have fun.” she said and closed the connection. She sat back and smiled to herself. A weekend away sounded great.

* * *

Penny entered her apartment and threw her bag on the floor, frustrated beyond belief. After arriving at the gym, she had discovered that she had forgotten her long sweats and had to use her tight shorts. While they showed off her legs and curves of her butt, it didn't help her concentration on the treadmill when she was constantly badgered by different guys trying to hit on her or ogling her.

Most ridiculous were the guys who tried to show off their muscles by lifting weights in front of her. Especially funny was that one guy who put on more weight than he could lift and had to be rescued by a trainer after he let the weight drop on his chest.

At least she hadn't forgotten her loose sweater. The thought of having to wear her alternative top, that was also tight and barely covered her breasts, was too repulsive to comprehend in that location. At least she was home now and would be in the presence of her boyfriend in a few minutes. Just as she was about to go over, her phone rang. The name on the display told her that it was her mother.

“Hey mom.”

“Hey sweetie. How are you?”

“Fine.”

“We were just worried because you never called.”

“Mom, I was waiting for you to come online once in a while. Calling you on Skype doesn't cost anything, instead of paying a lot for a long-distance call.”

“Oh, I have given up on understanding that thing. Your father starts it up once in a while to play a game but he never saw you online apparently.”

“Why not make a date, I'll be online later and you tell dad to start your laptop up and we talk later? Leonard's waiting for me, I have dinner with my neighbors.”

“Leonard, huh? You should bring him here some day. Your dad surely wants to meet him.”

“Sure. But I don't know how soon I can come. Plane tickets aren't cheap and driving takes days.”

“The fact that you agreed that fast to bring him tells me, he's more than your neighbor and friend.”

“Oh right, I never told you. We're together.” Penny said happily.

“We knew that would happen when you talked about him non-stop during the week you were here.”

“Yeah, okay, you were right. Happy?”

“Having you admit I was right? Of course I'm happy. But I'm also happy for you. Leonard sounds like a great guy.”

“Thanks mom, he is. But I have to go now, the guys are waiting.”

“Okay, have fun.”

“I will. Say hi to dad for me, okay? Love you.”

“Love you too Penny. Bye.”

Penny hung up the phone and walked towards her door. She was hungry and a few minutes ago she had heard Leonard come home, probably with the take-out bag in hand, since he usually brought it. Also, thanks to the phone call, she had missed the beginning of America's Next Top Model. She didn't waste any time with knocking and simply opened the door to 4A.

“Hey guys, what did I miss?”

“Giselle’s hanging by a thread.” Howard told her.

“Oh, good, I hate her.” Penny said and sat down in the middle seat of the couch.

“Then you’re not invited to our wedding.” the engineer said, getting another eye roll from Penny at his delusions.

“Here you go.” Leonard said and handed her the food, putting the rest on the table too.

“Oh, do we have to suffer through this transparently manipulative pseudo-reality again?” Sheldon asked and everybody said yes at the same time as he sat down and turned to Leonard. “You and I have a standing TV schedule which is the result of extensive debate and compromise. Any alterations except for breaking news have to be pre-approved at the weekly roommate meeting.”

“Put it on the agenda.” Leonard said.

“But you have to make a motion to put it on agenda.” Sheldon objected.

“Oh, I’ll make a motion, but you’re not going to like it.” Leonard replied and got a grin from Penny.

“Fine. Mock Parliamentary procedure. At least put it on mute.” Sheldon ordered and Howard complied, putting the TV on mute as Sheldon got up again to go to the fridge.

“Oh, Giselle’s not getting kicked off. It’s totally going to be Summer.” Penny said and took one of Sheldon's onion rings, which received a high pitched squeak from Raj. “What?”

“Sheldon’s onion ring. Put it back!” Leonard said with a look of panic.

“It’s one onion ring.”

“Just put it back before he comes!” Howard shout-whispered, the same panic in his voice. Penny complied and threw the onion ring back into the tray.

“No, no, no, I don’t think that’s where it was.” Leonard said.

“Okay, here he comes, deny, deny, people, wall of silence.” Howard whispered again and turned his head to the TV, Raj doing the same while Leonard looked at his food.

“Who touched my…” Sheldon started and Howard told him that she was the culprit while Raj pointed his finger at her. At least Leonard didn't do the same. “Why would you do that?” the lanky physicist directed towards her.

“I don’t know. I was hungry? What’s the big deal?” she asked.

“The big deal is that nobody touches food on my plate.”

“All right. Look, I didn’t know, I’m sorry.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but that is your second strike.”

“What?”

“You have two strikes. Three strikes and you’re out. It’s a sports metaphor.”

“All right, I’ll play along. What was my first strike?” she asked.

“March 18th. You violated my rule about forwarding email humor.” he replied.

“I did?”

“The photo of the cat who wants to “has cheezburger”?”

“Oh, come on, everybody loves LOLcats. They’re cute and they can’t spell ’cause they’re cats.” _'Boy, it's like explaining jokes to a child.'_

“I trusted you with my email address, and you betrayed that trust by sending me Internet banality, strike one. Touching my food, strike two.” Sheldon said and moved towards the fridge again.

“Don’t worry. They only stay on your record for a year.” Leonard said.

“You can get them removed early, but you have to take his class.” Howard added.

“Come on, I touched one onion ring.” she said to Sheldon, getting up herself and getting a bottle of water from the fridge.

“And then you put it back, compromising the integrity of all the other onion rings.” Sheldon replied, throwing all the onion rings into the trash.

“Oh, honey, the buses don’t go where you live, do they?” she said and walked back towards the couch.

“Look, Penny, I wish I could be more lenient with you, but since you’ve become a permanent member of our social group I have to hold you to the same standards as everybody else.”

“Congratulations. You’re officially one of us.” Leonard said in a voice that made her wonder if he was being sarcastic or not.

“Well, what a thrill.” she huffed and flopped down on the left side of the couch.

“You’re sitting in my spot.” Sheldon said after returning to the couch.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Leonard, she’s in my spot.” Sheldon complained.

“Yeah, yeah. Uh, see, here’s the thing, after you leave, I still have to live with him.” Leonard directed towards her.

“I don’t care. I’m taking a stand. Metaphorically.” she replied.

“All right, that’s it. Strike three.” Sheldon said.

“Ooh, strike three.”

“Don't be so cocky, that means you're out.”

“What?”

“You heard me Penny, leave the apartment and don't come back.”

“Say what? How will you prevent me from coming over.”

“I'm not kidding. Until you apologize, you are banished from this apartment. Any violation will be logged and after repeated violations the authorities will be called.” Sheldon said and his seriousness made her get up and storm out. Her mood had turned sour again, the lingering effects of her almost-done period still making it easy. She stomped towards the door and ripped it open, walking into the hallway with Leonard behind her.

“I’m banished? What the hell kind of crap is that?” she shouted back towards him.

“Listen, don’t worry. I’ll talk to him.”

“Yeah, you do that.”

“Just so I know, would you be open to taking his class?” he asked and she shut the door in front oh him. “You can do it online!” she shouted through the door and left.

She sat down on her couch and sighed. Why was Sheldon such a crazy man? All she had wanted was a nice dinner with her boyfriend, even with his friends there, and to watch America's Next Top Model. But no, he banished her because she just touched one friggin' onion ring. How could he even contemplate to eat in a restaurant? The people who make the food also touch it. Any more thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on the door.

“Hey.” she said to Leonard after opening it.

“Hi. I brought your food. I thought we could have dinner together.” he replied.

“Really? Great, come in.”

“Listen, I'm sorry about Sheldon.” he said as he put her food on the table.

“It's not your fault that he's crazy.”

“Yeah. Also, he's not speaking to me anymore tonight. He ran into his room when I said I'd rather have dinner with you. Howard and Raj continue to watch the model show.”

“You pissed him off for me?”

“If I have the choice between spending time with Sheldon or you, you always win.”

“Aw, that's sweet. Come on, I'm hungry.”

They sat down and began eating, Penny forgoing the use of the plastic cutlery in favor of speed due to her hunger. After wolfing down her food, she threw away the case and waited for Leonard to finish. After he was done and copied her actions with the detrius, she took two glasses and a bottle of wine.

“So, what are we doing tonight since you have no cable?” Leonard asked as they clinked their glasses.

“Want to watch some DVD?”

“Sure, what do you have?” Leonard asked and Penny put a DVD in before pressing play. As she sat down again, Leonard let out a laugh.

“Friends. How surprising.”

“Hey, that's a great show.” Penny said and playfully swatted his arm. “Also, it's just a sideshow for what I really want to do.”

“And what is that?”

“This.” she said and climbed into his lap, connecting her lips to his. Without waiting, she pushed his tongue into his mouth and his own met hers. As she did always almost by reflex, she started grinding her hips into his groin, feeling him stiffen under her despite the fact that it would be at least another day until they could actually do anything.

“Uh, Penny.” Leonard started after separating their lips.

“I know.” she replied and stopped her movement. “Sorry, it's a reflex.”

“Usually I have nothing against it, but I think if you continue doing that plus all the other teasing during the week, I will explode as soon as I enter you tomorrow.”

“You really think so?” she asked.

“Probably. I thought it would happen yesterday when you dry-humped me or this morning when you got dressed in front of the camera. All that went through my head was how much I want you, how much I want to bury my head between your legs and give you...”

“LEONARD!” she shouted, desperately needing him to stop. Not only because she was getting heavily aroused but also because she could feel him pulsating under her.

“Sorry. I'll think some unsexy thoughts.”

“I don't think that will be of much help.” she sighed and got up, pulling him with her. “Although I don't like it, I need to help you so you won't finish immediately tomorrow.”

She dragged him into her bedroom and pushed him on the bed. She opened his pants and pulled them down, taking his shorts with her and grinned when his erection snapped upwards after being freed from its cotton confinement.

She wasted no time and after grabbing it, she closed her lips around his top and moistened it, letting her tongue swirl around it. She could feel him pulsate heavily and used her thumb and index finger to press the base together so he wouldn't come right away.

“Uh Penny, that won't help me with... oh my god!” Leonard shouted, as his attempt to voice his objection was drowned out by Penny taking him him completely, her head sinking down and her lips helping her fingers around his base. She swallowed a few times, knowing how much he liked that and was rewarded with loud hisses and groans as he strained to prevent his climax.

Penny had other ideas though and let her hand go off him before rapidly moving her head up and down. She felt Leonard trying to get away from her, knowing that she hated his spill in her mouth. But Penny had made her choice and held him by the hips, not letting move anywhere while her head continued her fast bobbing movement.

After two more minutes of his progressively louder moans, she felt his body stiffen up and his legs pressed together around her, like she did when he licked her to an orgasm. His hips jerked upwards and he finally released with a loud groan, spilling into her mouth, just as she had intended.

She kept her mouth closed and resisted the swallow reflex, letting his spill pooling inside her mouth until he finished twitching. As Leonard breathed hard, she got up and hurried into the bathroom, spitting the current contents of her mouth into her sink and rinsing out her mouth with water and mouthwash several times. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at her reflection before she started running a bath and headed back into the bedroom, where Leonard was still on his back, breathing heavily.

“There, now you won't explode tomorrow as soon as you enter me.” she grinned and lay down next to him as he pulled his shorts and pants up, not bothering to close the zipper and button.

“That was... wow.” Leonard stated and turned to her. “But, help me out here, you said you hated that stuff in your mouth. And I remember us having our so far worst relationship crisis because of what you just did.”

“Okay, I know that looks strange but I got some good advice from Cheryl and Kim about that. I know I always said that I hate that stuff in my mouth and it's true.” she replied and lifted a finger to forestall whatever Leonard wanted to say. “But, the truth it, when we had our crisis, it was more rooted in the fact that I swallowed.”

“And it's okay if you don't swallow?”

“Well, as I said, I still don't like that stuff in my mouth but I always think of all the times you gave me an orgasm just with your mouth. And frankly, you deserve that too, so I will gladly bear that momentary unpleasantness. I just hope that you liked it.”

“Liked it? I loved it. That felt so good, it was unbelievable.”

“Good. Because while I gladly do that, it will most likely stay a rare occurrence, since I want you to climax inside me.”

“I prefer climaxing inside you too. Although, technically I just did that.” he grinned.

“Ha ha. You know what I mean.”

“Yeah.”

“Leonard, will you stay with me tonight?”

“Of course.”

“Come on, lets take a bath.” she said and got up again, pulling him into her bathroom with her. While they had talked, the bathtub had filled up enough with hot water for both of them.

She took off her shirt and bra but before she could continue with her pants, Leonard's hands were on her breasts, gently squeezing them. She moaned slightly and saw his smile but still pushed his hands off her.

“Not now.” she said and discarded the rest of her clothes, standing naked in front of a still clothed Leonard. “What are you waiting for, get naked.”

He complied immediately, taking off his clothes in almost indecent haste. When he was finished, she mentioned for him to get into the tub. When he had settled and was leaning back, she turned her back to him and pulled out the tampon, cheerfully seeing it almost clean before she stepped into the tub herself with her back to him and sat down on his lap and leaned into his chest. His arms went around her waist immediately, holding her tight to him.

“Now you can.” she said smiling and put his hands on her breast where he started to caress them again. Despite the steaming hot water, his actions caused her to shiver as her nipples hardened .

“This is nice.” she commented as she enjoyed the embrace of both his arms and the hot water.

“Yes, it is.” he agreed and let his hands roam over her entire body, the area between her legs included. Every time his hands ran over her intimate area, she let out a slight hiss, showing him that she liked it. Her hips began the grinding movements again as they had before and before she realized how long she had done that, she felt him harden again.

“Leonard? Didn't I just give you a blowjob? How can you be ready again?”

“Because it has been twenty minutes.”

“What? Already?” she said, surprised that they had cuddled in her bathtub for more than fifteen minutes already.

She moaned as she felt the length of his now stiff manhood pressing against her center. Her moans got louder when his brought one hand between her legs and started rubbing her nub, making her shiver in delight.

“Normally when you start spreading your legs after I start rubbing you, I would comment how moist and ready you are but since we are under water, the point is moot.” he grinned and continued his ministrations.

“Oh, I am ready, no doubt about that.” she hissed as he hit a sweet spot.

“Too bad it's impossible tonight.”

“Actually, the tampon was almost clean. And Cheryl gave me some pieces of advice and the bathtub was one of it.”

“But it's still kinda gross, isn't it?”

“Yeah, it is.” Penny agreed and started moving her hips up and down slowly while his hand kept doing its magic to her, bringing her closer and closer to the edge. As she kept moving along his length, her mind flashed back to the day they did it in the same position in front of her TV while watching themselves.

“God dammit.” she cursed and fought her desire to simply sink down on him.

“Somebody's eager.” he said grinning, mistaking her cursing for an expression of pleasure.

“You have no idea.” she replied. “I can't wait until tomorrow. I will text you when I'm home from work and you will come over immediately. And be advised, no foreplay this time, I want you hard and rough, at least for the first time.”

“First time?” he asked.

“Of course, do you really think I'm gonna let you leave after one time?”

“Okay, getting a little scary now.” he grinned. “But now we should clean ourselves up and get out, the water's getting cold.” he said and put action to his words, pushing her into a sitting position and scrubbing her back with her loofah.

They finished cleaning ans dried themselves off and after brushing their teeth, they went back into the bedroom. He put on his shorts while she donned her pajama shorts and tank top again. They went into bed and got into their usual position, both on their sides with her back against his chest and his arm around her waist.

“Leonard?”

“Yes?”

“Tomorrow, when you get up and make breakfast again, wake me so we can have it together.”

“Okay. By the way, you have the dinner shift tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“We'll come over to eat.”

“I'll gladly serve you.” she grinned. “Good night Leonard.”

“Good night Penny.”

* * *

True to her request, Leonard woke her up shortly after seven so they could have breakfast together but for a few seconds after consciousness replaced sleep, she was inclined to punch him until he held a steaming cup of coffee in front of her face.

After a leisurely breakfast of toast, which reminded her to do some grocery shopping so she would have something else to offer, Leonard changed into his clothes for the day while Penny stayed in her robe.

“So, what's the plan for today?” she asked as he stepped towards the door.

“What do you mean? I have to go to work now. I have to earn the big bucks to get you presents.” he grinned.

“That's not my fault, I don't work you to the bone.”

“Actually you do but not in that regard.” he replied and it took a few second for Penny to realize what he just meant.

“Ha ha. Get out, you.” she said and kissed him before pushing him playfully out the door.

After spending her hours grocery shopping and generally doing nothing until her shift started, she arrived in the employee's room and was met by a certain nosy colleague of hers, one of the two that knew way too much about her sex life.

“Hey girl.” Cheryl said.

“Hey Cheryl.”

“You're in a better mood. Glad to be able to have sex again today?”

“You have no idea. Yesterday was rough, I almost did it with him in the bathtub.”

“Oh my god, you did it yesterday?”

“No, I said almost. We took a bath together and I almost couldn't help myself.” Penny said.

“And here I thought I was rubbing off on you.”

“That's not necessarily a good thing.” Penny said and left the room to begin her shift in earnest.

After three hours, she watched as her sweetie and his friends entered the restaurant and sat down at a table. She was about to go over there when Howard pulled out a map and spread it out on the table, excitedly discussing something with Leonard while Sheldon only talked once. Whatever Howard was planning, it was probably creepy and had something to do with the models. She went over to get their orders as Howard folded the map but realized that she already knew what they would order. Also, she decided to have some fun with Sheldon.

“Okay, let me guess.” she started after arriving at their table. “A Quesadilla with soy cheese for my lactose-intolerant Leonard. Shrimp Caesar salad with no almonds for the highly allergic kosher-only-on-the-high-holidays Howard, and for our suddenly back on the Hindu wagon Raj, meat lover’s pizza, no meat. Coming right up.”

“Excuse me. You forgot my barbecue bacon cheeseburger, barbecue sauce, bacon and cheese on the side.” Sheldon said when she was about to walk away.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you? You’re banished from the Cheesecake Factory.” she told him.

“Why?”

“Well, you have three strikes. One, coming in. Two, sitting down. And three, I don’t like your attitude.”

“You can’t do that. Not only is it a violation of California state law, it flies directly in the face of Cheesecake Factory policy.” he complained.

“Yeah, no, there’s a new policy. No shoes, no shirt, no Sheldon.”

“I bet we could sell that sign all over Pasadena.” Howard put in.

“Penny, can I talk to you for a minute?” Leonard said and got up, taking her around the corner. Penny pushed him further into a corner, until they were away from anyone who could see them, before she snaked her arms around his head and kissed him hard. Leonard reciprocated the kiss, for the first minute at least, before he gently pushed her away.

“Uh, hi.” he said. “Although I didn't mind that, I really wanted to talk to you.”

“Okay?”

“Look, here’s the thing, um, I talked to Sheldon and he feels terrible and he agrees that he was unreasonable and out of line.”

“Really? Well, that’s great.”

“Yeah, so just apologize to him, okay?”

“What? I’m not going to apologize to that nutcase.”

“Oh, come on, it’s easy, he’ll even tell you what to say. And then at least the whole banishment thing will be over.”

“Leonard, don’t you get it? If you guys keep going along with his insanity, you’re just encouraging him.”

“We’re not encouraging. It’s more like knuckling under. I tried standing up to him a few years back and it was a disaster. Back then, our neighbor was a two hundred pound transvestite with a skin condition, so I didn't have anyone else to spend the night at.”

“Look, I like hanging out with you guys, but I’m not going to apologize for something I didn’t do.”

“Well, actually, technically, you did do it.” he said and grinned.

“That’s strike one, Leonard.”

“Uh oh. Just out of curiosity, what would happen after three strikes?”

“Well, I would drag you into my bedroom, get naked and then pleasure myself while you have to watch without being allowed to touch me.”

“Okay, I won't say anymore stupid things. By the way, I liked when you said “Quesadilla with soy cheese for MY lactose-intolerant Leonard”.” he said, emphasizing the word my. “Too bad they didn't pick up on it.” he continued and both went back. As they rounded the corner, Penny saw Sheldon standing next to Marc, her day manager and whatever he was telling him, she knew that she probably was in trouble. Her fears were realized when Sheldon walked away and Marc mentioned her over.

“Penny, that customer said that you wouldn't take his order and that you banned him from the restaurant?”

“Yeah. He's my neighbor and he banned me from his apartment for, get this, touching his food. I mean, how does he even justify coming to a restaurant where people by necessity handle his food with their hands. When the cook makes his burger, of course he touches it.”

“That doesn't give you the right to ban him from the restaurant. You will take his order and you will serve it to him.”

“Fine. I already know what he wants.” Penny said and stomped away. During the discussion, the cook had finished the other three orders. Penny gave him the last one and waited until he finished before bringing all four plates to the table.

“There you go, Quesadilla, salad, there’s your pizza, and thanks to Sheldon’s heated discussion with my manager one barbecue bacon cheeseburger, barbecue sauce, bacon and cheese on the side.”

“Thank you.” Sheldon said.

“Go ahead, eat it. I dare you.” she challenged him, grinning evilly as he hesitated. With a last wink to Leonard, she left them to their food, not caring if Sheldon ate the food she had run her hand all over.

* * *

After returning from work, about two hours after the guys had left, Penny hurried into her bathroom. She took off her clothes and stepped into her tub, taking a quick shower. She dried herself off and went back into her bedroom to stand in front of her floor length mirror.

She looked at herself and felt a little smug upon seeing her reflection. She had used the morning after Leonard had left to shave her entire body except above the neck and used her lotion to great effect. Her skin was as smooth as a babies behind and Leonard did say that he couldn't wait to bury his head between her legs again.

Just thinking about what he was able to do with his tongue made her extremely hot. She felt moisture and heat pooling in her abdomen and center and couldn't repress a shiver of anticipation and delight at the thought of the coming night. If her plan came to fruition, Leonard would be very tired at work tomorrow.

**I'm home and showered. Please come over now ;) :-x** she texted Leonard after putting on her robe.

**I'll be over shortly** came the immediate reply.

Penny walked around in her apartment, trying to think of something to do while she waited. She grabbed two bottles of water and brought them into her bedroom and she placed the inhaler he had left at her apartment a while ago on the nightstand so he would have easy access should the need arise. To top it off, she pulled the bed a few inches away from the wall. She quickly hurried to her door when she heard the knocking that announced the start of the love fest she had planned tonight.

“Hey you, come on in and...” she started but stopped when she saw not only Leonard but also Sheldon standing next to him.

“Look Leonard, she isn't even dressed, so don't tell me she asked you to come over.” Sheldon admonished his roommate.

“Sheldon, she did ask for my help, didn't you Penny.” Leonard directed towards her.

“Yes, Sheldon, I did ask for his help.”

“Need I remind you that she is banished from our apartment?” the lanky physicist asked.

“Need I remind you that we're standing in the hallway in front of her own apartment?” Leonard retorted.

“That's not important. What's important is, that you have to choose now between her and me. And should you choose her, you are also banished from the apartment until tomorrow morning.” Sheldon said.

“Really?” Penny asked. “Just until morning? Why not until he apologizes to you?”

“Because he has to drive me to work tomorrow. For that he needs to return to our apartment, to get his car keys. Also, he might decide to leave without me.”

“See you tomorrow Sheldon.” Leonard said and stepped past Penny into her apartment.

“Really?” Sheldon added sarcastically. “But Leonard, it won't be good for your back if you sleep on her couch and...” Sheldon started to say as he attempted to enter Penny's apartment.

“Hold on there Sheldon.” Penny stopped him. “You're banished from my apartment.”

“What for? A banishment without sufficient reason is invalid.”

“Sheldon? Remember what I did to you when you woke me up at nine in the morning on a Saturday?” Penny asked and Sheldon nodded. “Imagine what I would do to you if you entered my apartment without my permission.”

Sheldon looked shocked at her threat and wisely said nothing as he stepped back out into the hallway. Penny closed the door and turned to Leonard with a smile but before she could take a step, he held up a hand to forestall anything she might say or do. They had waited for five seconds when they heard the sound of a door slamming shut and knew that Sheldon had returned to his own apartment.

“Sorry about him. I know he's...” Leonard started but was stopped by Penny's lips on his. She invaded his mouth with her tongue and moaned loudly into it while pushing him into her bedroom. She threw him on her bed and discarded her robe, standing wide legged and spreading her arms wide.

His groan told her that it had the desired effect and she pounced on him, connecting their lips again while simultaneously opening the button and zipper of his pants. Somehow he managed to wiggle out of his lower garments even with her pressing herself down on his stomach while never letting to of his lips. When she heard the telltale sound of clothes hitting the floor, she lifted herself up and grabbed his manhood to guide it before she sunk down on him, taking him in all at once.

“Oh my god!” she shouted. “I have missed this so much.”

“Me too.” Leonard said and grabbed her hips.

Penny sat up and put her hands on his chest to get some leverage. After a few tentative moves, she started riding him hard, the bed starting to move with them but thanks to her preparation, the posts didn't hit the wall. The only sound it made were the squeaks of abuse from the springs.

But they were completely drowned out by the noises Penny made. She climaxed quickly in under two minutes but didn't let up, keeping her speed up to prolong the orgasm. After it had died down, she continued her moves, riding him like crazy, her fingernails biting into his skin.

“OH YES!” she shouted again and collapsed on his chest, which Leonard took as a sign to hold her hips down and slam his own up to prolong her orgasm again.

“Holy crap, you are tight.” he commented while she panted hard.

“Am I glad I gave you that blowjob yesterday.” she said when she felt him still hard inside her. Without her actions the day before, he would probably have exploded into her already.

Penny sat back up and leaned back, her weight pressing down on making it go as deep as possible inside her. She moaned loudly as she put her feet down the left and right of his. Leonard, his thoughts in sync with hers, bend his knees so she could hold herself in position as she started bouncing up and down hard.

Without even realizing it at first, she gave him a tremendous show because her movements made her breasts bounce with her, something Leonard loved immensely. He tried to touch them but due to her body leaning more backwards, the only thing he managed was to let his fingers glide over them once in a while.

Penny soon cried out another climax, stopping her up and down movement in favor of pressing herself down on him to have him as far in as possible while she twitched in pleasure. She saw Leonard grinning up at her, his hands finally able to reach her breasts.

“That feels so amazing.” he said when she kept clenching her inner muscles as she sat on him.

After a brief pause, she started moving again, gyrating on him to feel him move against her walls. He lifted his body up and took her left nipple into his mouth, sucking it hard while his left hand was busy caressing her right breast. She brought her arms around his neck to hold herself up and started the forward-backward movement again, which was more an up and down, since he was sitting up as well.

“Turn around.” he ordered and she happily complied.

She lifted herself off him and turned around while he got on his knees. She mirrored his position, sitting on her spread knees with her hands on the bed in front of her. Leonard got in behind her, his own knees coming next to hers. He momentarily rubbed his left hand over her folds, making her shiver in delight before he entered her again, grabbing her hips to hold on.

He started moving rapidly, his grip on her hard enough to pull her backwards every time he thrust forward. This was a position they have never done before but if felt amazing as always. The angle was right enough to make him hit her g-spot and although not with every thrust, it connected enough times to make her climax as soon as his right hand touched her nub and rubbed it.

He didn't let up and kept thrusting hard while continuing the rubbing. His other arm went from her hip to her chest, caressing her left breast. The new angle of her body brought them into a position that made him hit her g-spot with every thrust again. As soon as her upper body was vertical she couldn't stop her sounds from getting louder.

“Oh god! Oh god! OH YES! Keep going! DON'T STOP!” she screamed as he pounded and rubbed her into oblivion. And kept pounding. And pounding. And pounding.

As she felt and heard him climax behind her, her voice almost gave out when she screamed out her own orgasm that he managed to give her right during his. He pressed her against him, his hard and labored breathing loud in her ear before he pulled both of them backwards. They collapsed on the bed and Leonard took a quick breath from his inhaler before settling back down. Penny looked at her watch and saw that almost forty minutes had passed since they started. Blowing him yesterday had really been a great idea.

“Holy hell, that was amazing.” Penny panted.

“Uh-hu.” Leonard replied, too exhausted to actually speak.

“Where did you learn of this sitting position?” she asked him after a few minutes of getting their heartbeat and breathing under control.

“I knew of it before but always wanted to try it.”

“Well, it worked perfectly, especially when you pulled me against you.”

Penny snuggled into his chest to rest up before their next round. But despite her plans to keep the night going, she fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

Around two in the morning, Penny's sleeping body was roused from its slumber by the release of endorphins into it. When full consciousness had finally reclaimed her, she cried out in pleasure at the sensations coursing through her, despite the fact that she could barely move. She realized that Leonard was doing her from behind in her most favorite position while holding her arms to keep her body from sliding forward during his thrusts.

Unfortunately for her, that meant that she couldn't hold on to something and simply had to take his poundings with her teeth sunk into the pillow. As she let out a throaty scream to release the orgasmic tension, he groaned and spilled deep into her. She once again marveled at how much in sync their bodies had become, since he almost always managed to bring her to a last orgasm when he climaxed.

This time they managed to go into the bathroom to clean themselves up, a task they had missed due to their exhaustion after the first time. After quickly showering together as usual and brushing their teeth, they were soon back in bed, their bodies pressed against each other as they both fell back into the sweet embrace of sleep.

At four in the morning, Penny felt herself dragged back into reality by the feeling of her labia spread apart and a tongue moving around inside her. She opened her eyes and could see the outline of Leonard's head between her legs. She closed her eyes again and imagined the movement of his tongue by the sensations she was feeling. When her climax approached, she pressed his head harder on her and as soon as Leonard closed his lips around her clit and inserted a finger into her, she came hard and loud.

Leonard climbed on top of her and entered her in a swift motion after Penny had spread her legs wide. His hands held hers down over her head again and for the next twenty minutes, they made passionate love in that traditional but emotionally connecting position. Penny almost broke down in tears at the thought of how tender they were with each other in that instance. There was no rapid movement, no pounding and no attempts at domination, just as simple showing of love. This told Penny that he felt more for her than simple lust. You don't do it like that if you're only interested in sex. After speeding up and achieving another climax, both went back to sleep, exhausted but extremely sated.

At six in the morning, Penny woke up again, this time of her own volition. Her body, or to be more precise, her bladder, desperately wanted her to go to the bathroom but she wasn't sure if she was able to stand up, much less walk. Her legs felt like jello and she had that delicious ache between her legs again. Still, he wouldn't mind more of that.

She got up and after a few seconds of just standing, walked slowly into the bathroom to do her ablutions. After returning, she noticed that the comforter had slid from Leonard, bringing his naked body into full view but her gaze focused on his half erect manhood. With a grin, she carefully climbed back into bed, gently pushing his legs apart as to not wake him.

She lay down into a position he usually assumed before his tongue descended on her clit and labia. She put her hands to the left and right of his body, her upper body almost mirroring the position of the Sphinx and took his manhood into her mouth without using her hands. It stiffened almost immediately and she slowly bobbed her head up and down, gently sucking on the tip whenever her head was up.

She closed her eyes and continued doing that, strangely enjoying the feeling of him inside her mouth. Kim had been right, she enjoyed it, even making him come like that, she liked that kind of power. She opened her eyes again and found herself face to face with the back of his phone, upon which she released him with a loud plop.

“Leonard.” she admonished. “How long have you been awake? And how long have you been filming?”

“About twelve and ten minutes respectively.” came his reply. “I must say, it looks amazing.”

“Really? Show me.” she said and he turned around the phone. She hit the play button and watched the recording.

“Wow, it really looks great.” she agreed.

It really did look amazing. She could see the relish in her eyes, telling her more than any words could how much she loved doing that. If she hadn't opened her eyes, she'd probably continued like that for as long as either her neck muscles gave out or he climaxed.

“What time is it?” he asked with a yawn.

“Around six-thirty. We have enough time.”

“Enough time for what?”

“Well, you have a boner and I'm wet, so morning sex it is.” she said and didn't give him time to argue.

She climbed up his body and sunk down on him again, riding him hard to two more orgasms until he came as well. And although it was more a quickie than sex, lasting only six minutes, she felt satisfaction as she collapsed back onto him. They spend the rest of the morning simply kissing until Leonard's alarm pulled them out of bed.

“Before you go, can you send me a copy of the video?” she asked as he dressed himself.

“Sure.” he replied and grabbed his phone, pressing a few buttons. Penny saw on hers that the video had been transferred. When the clock hit eight-thirty, he turned to leave but before he could, she put on her robe and stepped towards him, bringing his lips to hers.

“Last night was amazing. Thank you so much.” he said.

“Leonard, you don't have to thank me for sex. And truth be told, I think I need to thank you. What you did to me last night was awesome.”

“Then could I interest you in a repeat? I get myself banished again if you message me to come over and we could do it again.”

“Hell yes! But this time, we should try to sleep through the night. I don't object to being wakened by you pounding me hard and doing that for twenty more minutes but we both look like crap.”

“Okay.” was his simple reply and he opened the door to reveal Sheldon, who had just stepped out of 4A.

“There you are Leonard, I just wanted to get you.”

“No worries, I'm here, lets go to work.”

“By the way you walk I can see that Penny's couch did her work on you again.” Sheldon commented just as Penny closed her door. When she was back in her bedroom, she couldn't keep it in and released her mirth in a loud laughter at Sheldon's ignorance.

* * *

That day at the Cheesecake Factory, Penny sailed through her shift, getting some the largest tips she ever got, even from the couple that the year before was voted the most hated customers because of their reluctance to tip at all and again basked in the envy of two of her colleagues.

True to his words, Leonard got Sheldon to banish him to “spend the night on Penny's couch”, which he saw as a mean punishment, after Penny send Leonard messages to come over. They used the time well, catching up on all the sex they missed during her period. But they did manage to sleep through the nights, despite Penny waking up the following night and almost repeating what she did on Thursday morning.

Now it was Saturday morning and Penny was busy doing what she loved doing. Leonard. Or rather, being done by him by lying on her stomach, his manhood deep inside her for half an hour until he climaxed loudly with her. After sharing breakfast again, this time some buns with jam, more toast and some cereal, they got dressed.

“Wow, you look great in that top.” Leonard commented upon seeing her exit her bedroom, dressed in tight, flower-motif sweatpants with a low waistline and a red top without a bra, showing off her cleavage again.

“Thanks.” she grinned.

“Makes me want to take you back in there.” he said and pointed to her bedroom.

“Leonard, you did me really good those last few days but we should postpone any more to tonight. Otherwise we could get chafing.” she winked at him.

“You're mean. I really want to peel it off you.”

“If you play your cards right, then you can do it tonight.” she smiled.

“Oh? And what would I have to do for the privilege to pleasure you again?”

“Well, get your tongue ready, it will be in use for a long time.”

“Deal.”

“By the way, how did you get Sheldon to ban you again yesterday?”

“I accidentally told him that you touched his hamburger on Wednesday and I didn't viciously slam your behavior.”

“Did he take it hard?”

“Pretty much. He said he was going to get you back and make you apologize.”

“He can wait a long time for that.”

“Well, I promised Sheldon to take him to the Comic Book Store. I will drop him off there and return. Wanna have lunch together later?”

“I'd love to.”

After giving her a kiss, he left the apartment. Penny used the time alone to do some more grocery shopping, realizing that she should have worn a jacket after practically every male customer stared at her cleavage. Another strange development in her life. A year ago, she would have reveled in those stares but since she was with Leonard, it always felt as if it was a dishonesty towards him when he wasn't with her.

After getting home, she started up her laptop. She needed to call her parents and had planned for a while to do some online shoe shopping. But as she attempted to connect to the guy's WiFi, she only saw a video popping up with the face of Sheldon greeting her.

“Greetings, hamburger toucher. You are probably wondering why you cannot IM with your little friends about how much you heart various things. Well, this recorded message is alerting you that I am putting an end to your parasitic piggybacking upon our WiFi. If you want to remedy the situation you can contact the phone company, set up your own WiFi and pay for it, or you may apologize to me.”

“What the hell?” she said into the empty room. She grabbed her laptop and went over to the guys.

“Okay, where is he?” she asked, after seeing only Leonard, Howard and Raj.

“Sheldon? I just dropped him off at the comic book store. Why?” Leonard replied.

“Here. Try and go online.”

“Problem with the WiFi?”

“No, just try.” she said and showed him the video Sheldon had recorded. “Well?”

“I reiterate, knuckle under.” was Leonard's only reply.

“No, no, no. It is on now. I am gonna introduce your friend to a world of hurt.” she said and headed back towards her apartment.

“Oh, Penny, you don’t want to get into it with Sheldon. The guy is one lab accident away from being a supervillain.” Leonard tried to reason.

“I don’t care, I was in junior rodeo, I can hogtie and castrate him in sixty seconds.”

“No need to neuter the nerd, I can get you back online.” Howard interjected and sat down at Sheldon's open laptop. He typed for a few second and sat back again. “Voila.”

But instead of online access for Penny, the face of Sheldon appeared on the screen as well.

“Hello, puny insects. As a consequence of your efforts to circumvent my will, everyone is awarded one additional strike.”

“Thanks a lot, Howard.” Leonard told the engineer.

“What are you complaining about? I’m the one who has to take the class again.” Howard replied.

Instead of waiting around, Penny returned to her apartment, walking around in circles. She clicked on the TV and used it to pass the time, never having realized how boring it could be without ready access to the internet and her boyfriend to pass the time since Leonard had to leave on an errant that would take the entire afternoon. As she watched on the screen how Monica took apart the apartment to find out what a certain switch did, Penny formulated a plan in her head to get Sheldon back by using his strict adherence to timetables against him.

* * *

She still had to wait for a few hours until she could put her plan into motion. At six o'clock precisely, she grabbed a few items of laundry and a roll of quarters and headed downstairs into the laundry room. She put a few items of clothing into every washing machine and quarters into the slots, activating an hour-long washing program on every machine.

Smiling, she went back up and put her laundry basket back into her apartment before placing herself in the hallway, leaning back against the wall next to the elevator. And punctual as always, Sheldon exited the apartment at exactly the time he did every Saturday.

“Oh, hello.” he greeted her with some apprehension.

“Time to do your laundry, huh?” she asked.

“It’s Saturday night. Saturday is laundry night.”

“I know. Every Saturday at 8:15, easy to anticipate.”

“What are you implying?”

“I’m implying that you’re a creature of habit, and if something were to prevent you from doing your laundry on Saturday at 8:15, you might find it unpleasant.” she told him and was rewarded with a panicked look from him until he ran downstairs. “Knuckle under, my ass.” she said and slowly followed him. As she entered the laundry room, she saw Sheldon stand there, holding his basket and looking at the four running machines.

“Oh, no, are all the machines taken? What are you gonna do?” she asked sarcastically.

“No problem, I’ll just do my laundry another night.” Sheldon said, trying to sound nonchalant but Penny could hear the panic in his voice.

“Another night? Well, I guess you can try, but deep inside your heart you’ll know that laundry night is always Saturday night.” she egged him on and was rewarded by an annoyed look from him.

“Woman, you are playing with forces beyond your ken.”

“Yeah, well, your ken can kiss my Barbie.”

Sheldon ran back upstairs and Penny followed him slowly, grinning as she heard the door to 4A slam shut. This very moment would be perfect for some hot celebratory sex but unfortunately Leonard wasn't home yet. She went back into her own apartment and watched one more Friends episode to pass the time until her laundry was done.

Her timer dinged ten minutes before the end of the episode. She watched it to the end and grabbed her basket, before leaving her apartment to go downstairs. Upon reaching the laundry room, she saw every machine open and empty, except one that was running with a familiar looking basket on top of it. With a frown, she angrily stomped back upstairs.

She hammered her hand against the door to 4A, copying Sheldon's knocking behavior to show him she was mad. Her mood didn't improve when he opened the door with a smug look on his face.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Where are my clothes? I left them in the washers and when I went down to get them, they were gone.” she said.

“Really? Despite the sign that says “Do not leave laundry unattended”?”

“Sheldon, where are my clothes?”

“You know, I do recall seeing some female undergarments. Where was that?” he asked rhetorically and started to head towards the open window. She followed him with some trepidation. “Oh, yes, earlier this evening I happened to gaze out the window and a brassiere caught my eye. Do those look familiar?”

“How the hell did you get them up on that telephone wire?” she asked incredulous after looking out the window and seeing her clothes hanging from the telephone wire.

“When you understand the laws of physics, Penny, anything is possible. And may I add, muah-ha-ha!”

“Get them down.” she ordered.

“Apologize.” he demanded.

“Never.” she stated adamantly.

“Well, then may I suggest you get a very long stick and play panty pinata.” he replied and stepped away from here. Realizing that arguing with Sheldon led to nothing, Penny decided on another approach.

“Look, wait, Sheldon, this has gotten out of hand, okay? I’ve done some stupid things, you’ve done some stupid things, how about we just call it even and move on with our lives?”

“I’ve done no stupid things.”

“Look, you’ve got to meet me halfway here.”

“I am meeting you halfway, I’m willing to concede that you’ve done some stupid things.” he said and Penny couldn't believe her ears. She knew Sheldon got like this but even he should see that he's the one exacerbating the situation with his crazy behavior. Blocking access to the washing machines might have been annoying for him but taking her clothes and displaying them for everyone to see was another matter entirely. At least it wasn't a windy evening, having her red see-through thong flying away would be a waste given that it had a tremendous effect on Leonard.

“Hey, you guys are talking again. Good. What happened?” the welcome voice of her loved one interrupted her thinking, causing both her and Sheldon to look at him. But her joy of seeing him was overwhelmed by her anger towards Sheldon. She would get her clothes down and then introduce Sheldon to a world of pain.

“Leonard, remember when I said it was on? Well, now it’s junior rodeo on.” she told her boyfriend as she passed him on the way to her apartment.

After entering her home, she grabbed a broom and a mop along with a roll of duct tape. She put the ends together and started wrapping the tape around it, several layers as tight as possible, so the long stick wouldn't fall apart while she tried to get her clothes down. She heard her door open and knew who it was since only one person was allowed to enter without knocking first.

“Telephone wires can’t electrocute you, can they?” she asked Leonard.

“No. Look, this has to stop.” he pleaded.

“Oh, no, no, no. It is just beginning. He humiliated me immensely out there. Have you seen the clothes that hang there? Let me give you a hint. You got if off me with your teeth after running your tongue below it.”

“Wait, that red see-through thong? Oh god! All right, I really didn’t want to do this, but… here.” he said and handed her a folded piece of paper.

“What’s this?” she asked and handed him her long stick.

“Sheldon’s Kryptonite.”

“Oh, my God.” she said upon seeing the number on the paper. A number with a Texas area code.

“He can never know that I gave that to you.” he said serious.

“Look, I said I wanted to hurt him, but, but this?” she started.

“It’ll shorten the war by five years and save millions of lives.” he said.

“Okay, I will call her right now.” she said and dialed the phone. She stepped closer to Leonard, hugging him while holding the phone on her ear, enjoying the simple body contact.

“Hello, Mrs. Cooper? It's Penny... yeah, I'm fine. Listen, I wanted to ask for your help. Sheldon and I currently have an argument and to get me back for blocking access to the washing machines, he stole my clothes from the laundry room and hung them from the telephone wire outside... Yep, he did....What?... Um, how do you know a guy is in here with me... You can hear him breath? Oh, okay. Yes, there is a guy here... What? How do you know it's Leonard?... Really? How did you know that even before I did?... Yeah, okay...Yes...thank you...yes, bye.”

“What was that stuff with me about?” he asked her after she had hung up.

“When I said you were here, she asked if your relationship had finally progressed past the, and I quote, “sinning only stage”. And then she said that she knew that we would be together romantically. How could she know that before I did?”

“Woman's intuition?”

“Then I would have known it too since I'm a woman, don't you think?”

“Oh yes, you are definitely a woman. And what a woman you are.” he grinned.

“Somebody wants into my pants again.” she grinned back.

“Oh yeah, after watching you walk around in those pants that hug your ass like that and that shirt without a bra under it. But right now, I will go over to my place and watch the fallout between Sheldon and his mother. Knowing her, you will have your clothes back inside the hour.”

* * *

To pass the time, still without internet, she watched two episodes of Sex in the City, waiting for the familiar knock on the door that would precede her getting her clothes back. But before that could happen, her phone buzzed with a message. She smiled when she saw Leonard's face appearing on the screen.

**Sheldon's outside, getting your clothes off the wire. His mother ripped him a new one over the phone**

**Great. I'll wait here until he brought them back. Want to come over then?**

**Oh baby, do I? Finally getting you out of those pants, running my hands over your butt, burying my head between your legs until you quiver in delight before I push my manhood deep into you until you can't do anything but scream out orgasm after orgasm**

Penny took a shaky breath after reading his last text. Usually when he said something like that to her in person, she would stop him before she got too aroused to think straight. Unfortunately this time he did that in writing and she of course read it all. Luckily, a familiar but very timid knocking combination told her that the best way to quench her arousal had arrived.

“Hey Sheldon.” she greeted him softly after opening the door.

“I am very, very sorry for what I have done. Here’s your laundry, I rescind your strikes and you are no longer banished.” he said with downcast eyes.

“Can I sit wherever I want?” she asked, knowing that she was pushing it too far and was rewarded by his contorting face, indicating his rising panic. “No, no, never mind, never mind, that’s, that’s not important. Sheldon, this was big of you. Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“Thank you.”

“Good night, Sheldon.”

“Penny? Well played.” he complimented her.

“Thank you.” she replied.

“Just remember. With great power comes great responsibility.” Sheldon quoted Superman's father.

“Understood.” she said with a straight face and closed the door.

She did a little happy dance into her bedroom to put the clothes away. Thanks to her sweetie, she won that particular battle with Sheldon. She just hoped that Sheldon wouldn't plan an elaborate scheme as revenge. You never knew with crazy people.

“Come in Leonard.” she shouted when she heard another knock on her door, knowing who it would be.

“Hey. Guess what, Raj and Howard found the model house and went there. They said something about getting some overalls to pose as cable repair men. And Sheldon went to bed, sulking.”

“I hope he takes that as a lesson not to mess with a Nebraskan girl.” she said.

“By the way, you got WiFi access again.”

“Oh good! I can finally check my email.”

“You can do that later.” he grinned and took her hand.

“What are you doing?” she asked him playfully as he led her into the bedroom.

“This.” he replied and turned around, placing his hands over her butt, squeezing her cheeks. He opened the knot of her sweatpants and pushed them down, revealing her white thong underneath. “I see you prepared for this.”

“Yeah. No bra and barely any underwear. I did say this morning that I wanted to continue what we were doing tonight.”

“Yes, you did.”

“But, before I let you inside, I want something from you.” she said and pushed him onto the bed.

“And what is that.” he grinned and took off his hoodie and shirt.

“I did say that you should train your tongue. Now get on your back.”

He complied with her order and she took off her thong, running her hand over her folds in lascivious way, an action that was rewarded by Leonard's eyes almost popping out. She stepped on the bed and slowly walked to the headboard, placing her feet left and right of his head. She lost no time and bent her knees, sinking lower and lower until her folds came in contact with his tongue.

Resisting the urge to simply sit down with her entire weight, she kept herself slightly above his face, letting him work his magic. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep her position for long when she felt her thigh muscles starting to burn but for now she was still good. On a whim, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand and activated the recorder, seeing on the screen how his tongue ran over her folds and flicked over her nub.

After her inevitable climax she couldn't hold herself any longer and completely sank down on him. Putting her legs on the bed, not just her feet, she got in a better position to enjoy what he was doing to her. With one hand grabbing the headboard hard enough for her knuckles to turn white, she managed to hold her phone steady with the other, at least until she climaxed a second time.

Leonard didn't let her go and used his hands on her legs to hold her down. He pushed his tongue deep inside her and moved it around, running it along her inner walls. She shuddered at the sensation, as it felt way better than with his manhood due to his better directional control. She pressed his head into her as hard as she could to help him achieve deeper penetration and after almost exactly seven minutes, she shuddered with her third orgasm this night, courtesy of his tongue.

“Holy crap, that felt amazing when you pushed your tongue into me.” she panted after she rolled off him.

“I have no problem repeating that another day.” he said and got up to get rid of his clothes.

“And now, Doctor Hofstadter, I believe you wanted to push your manhood deep into me until I can do nothing but scream.” she grinned, watching him get naked.

“I did. And I plan on doing that right now.”

“Are you sure you are up for it?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“I think I will manage.” he said and took out the rubber band from her drawer.

He put it on and climbed back into bed, turning her onto her stomach. She giggled again, knowing which position he wanted to do. But when he grabbed her arms again to hold her against him and entered her, her giggles turned to loud moans again until she screamed out her first orgasm.

And if she was unable to walk and talk tomorrow, she would gladly pay that price for what he would do to her tonight.

* * *

**I need to stop here or that chapter will never end :D Hope you liked it. Until the next one ;)**

**Review please :)**


	21. Chapter 21

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going. **

* * *

"Wow, you will be the death of me someday." Leonard whined, still holding his hands over his crotch protectively while sitting on the bed with his back against the headboard, still out of breath from their lovemaking.

"Oh come on, I said I was sorry. I didn't do it on purpose." Penny replied.

"I hope not. That really hurt."

"Do I have to remind you that you have playfully bitten my nipples quite often? It always felt good so I just thought I return the favor on your manhood." she said.

"Yeah, but I usually only nip and sooth it with my tongue and lips. I don't bite hard or grind my teeth over it like a saw."

"I really did that?"

"That's what it felt like. I still feel the residual pain."

"You didn't complain those last twenty-five minutes while I was riding you. Hard, I might add.”

“Because my buddy was snugly surrounded by warmth and wetness and the pain receptors inside my brain were drowned out by the endorphins rushing through it. Now that it's dry and cold again, the pain is back.”

“Well, if he wasn't in hiding right now, I'd let him back into the warmth.” she grinned.

“Very funny. Even if that were possible right now, I really need to get up. Sheldon is surely in the bathroom already.“

“He's still clueless about us, huh?”

“Yep. He keeps reminding me not to drink anything after eleven at night so I won't have to, as he says, “use your bathroom” when he's using ours.” Leonard air-quoted.

“It's so weird. I can't decide if he is just innocent or willfully ignorant.”

“Probably a little of both. When you used our shower after you moved in, he told me that you'd never have sex with me.”

“If only he knew.” she grinned.

“That's what I said back then when he told me that.” he smiled back while he dressed. “Okay, I'm heading out now.”

As they did almost every morning after spending the night together, Leonard walked towards her to give her the opportunity to wrap her arms around his neck to pull him down and kiss him. Their tongues did their slow dance before Leonard reluctantly pulled away.

“Bye Penny. See you later.”

“Bye Leonard.” she replied and snuggled back into bed.

After dozing for another two hours, her alarm clock pulled her out of bed. She got up and did her bathroom routine before making herself some coffee. She got dressed in her Cheesecake Factory uniform and ate a cinnamon bun before drinking two cups of her coffee. Sighing a satisfied sigh, thanks to their morning activities and the caffeine inside her, she headed out to another day at work.

* * *

“Damn, why do you keep rubbing it in our faces?” the voice of Cheryl interrupted her in the break room. Penny turned around and found her friend standing in the door, Kim next to her.

“I have no idea what you are talking about. I didn't even say anything.” she explained herself.

“You don't have to. You have that I-had-amazing-morning-sex-with-my-boyfriend look on your face again.” Cheryl almost whined which made Penny smile. “See? That's what I mean. You stand here with that infuriating smile on your face that won't leave your face even if you have to serve the worst customers humanity ever knew. And that smile is the proverbial rub in our faces.”

“What can I say? I'm happy.”

“Yeah, we can see that.” Kim interjected.

“You make it really tough to keep our promise to not make a move on him.” Cheryl stated.

“Just remember, if you do, I will hurt you.” Penny said with a wink.

“Might even be worth it.”

“I doubt that.” Penny said. “Seriously, if I see any of you in some intimate fashion with Leonard, our friendship will be over forever.” she continued and crossed her arms, glaring at her friends. To her surprise, both started laughing.

“Wow, it's great to see you that determined.” Cheryl said. “As long as you are like that we know that we won't have a chance with him. But really, it's great to see you that happy, especially after your last year with Kurt.”

“Must you mention his name?”

“Sorry. But I hope you see what I mean. I fully expect to see you with a wedding ring same time next year.” Kim said.

“Whoa. Don't get too far ahead. Yes, I want to marry him but I don't think it will happen next year.” Penny said.

“Really? Let me ask you something. If he asked you tonight, would you say yes?” Cheryl asked.

Penny stayed quiet for several seconds. At the same time, there were multiple scenarios running through her mind what she would do if Leonard popped the question in the very near future. She saw herself on the stage with an Oscar in her hand, giving her acceptance speech. And in the first row, next to her currently empty chair, sat a proudly smiling Leonard.

She saw herself walking through the Cheesecake Factory, tray in hand, serving yet another customer. Her acting career never gotten off the ground properly, she was stuck in this job to earn money. But as she placed the plate in front of the customer, her eyes got locked on the gold wedding band adorning her left ring finger.

She saw herself sitting at home on the couch, her left hand absently rubbing over her swollen belly, the feeling of the baby kicking a font of joy for her when Leonard walked in and came over to her to place his hand on her belly and a kiss on her mouth. His lips moved but she couldn't hear anything, could only see the pride and joy in his eyes as he looked at her.

Yes, Penny had dreamed of literally dozens of scenarios already about what her future might look like. But there was always one constant in every single one of them. Leonard. He was always there, always looking at her with love and pride, no matter what she did or did not do for a living.

“Yes, I would.” Penny finally replied to Cheryl's question, much to the surprise of the other two girls. And what surprised her the most was the absence of fear and doubt.

“Oh my god. Wow. I think we need more girl talk. Tonight at seven, my place.” Cheryl ordered, her voice not allowing a negative answer.

“Fine.” Penny huffed and walked back to the restaurant for the second half of her shift.

The rest of her shift went as expected. Tips were good, her mood still on a high note thanks to her morning activities and by sheer luck, she got customers who were very receptive to that. She drove home and took a quick shower before changing into some brown pants and green shirt. She stuck her hair together in a messy bun, realizing that she had to wash it tomorrow at the latest.

She grabbed her purse, car keys and phone and exited her apartment. On her way down, she realized that she hadn't told Leonard that she wouldn't be available until later.

**Hey sweetie. Cheryl and Kim have roped me into a girls evening. Don't know yet when I'll be home :-x**

**Too bad. But have fun :)**

**I will. Later :-x**

She exited the building and went to her car. As she was about to unlock it, she saw a familiar looking two-wheeled vehicle and cursed. Of course Howard would do something to delay her, even by accident. Come to think of it, she could just pick it up and move it but why bother. 

She went back inside and headed up the stairs, entering the guys' apartment without knocking. She saw Sheldon sit in his usual spot and Raj on the other side of the couch. She flashed a quick smile to Leonard, who was sitting in his armchair with a notebook in hands and another one closed lying on the armrest.

But what caught her attention the most was Howard. She knew that he habitually dressed flamboyantly but tonight it was even more ridiculous than ever. He had on leather pants, tight as usual and a garish colored shirt over a blue turtleneck.

“Howard, your scooter’s blocking my car.” she told him and he turned around upon which she saw his eye patch. “Aw, did you get pinkeye again?”

“Step one, she notices the eye patch.” the engineer said to the guys before turning his attention towards her. “May I say Penny, not a lot of women could look as hot as you do with such greasy hair.”

_ 'What the hell? I know that I need to wash it but that was totally uncalled for. Was that supposed to be some kind of pick up line?' _ she thought and grabbed his eye patch, pulling it several inches away before releasing it. It hit his face with a loud slap and she had to laugh internally upon seeing his expression.

“Yeah, just move your stupid scooter before I pick it up and throw it in the dumpster.” she said and turned around, leaving the apartment and going back down.

After waiting two minutes next to her car, Howard exited the building and rolled his scooter away, placing it next to the wall of the building. He looked at Penny as if expecting something but it would be a cold day in hell when she would thank him for something he should have done in the first place.

* * *

“Hey, come on in.” Cheryl greeted her after opening the door.

“Let me guess, Kim's already here.” Penny replied deadpan and walked into the apartment.

“Hey!” the aforementioned woman shouted from the living room.

“What? It's not like I ever showed up here without you here.”

“True, but still.”

“Sorry, I'm a bit late, my car got blocked by Howard's scooter.”

“He drives a scooter?” Cheryl asked.

“Yep. But that thing looks not even remotely as ridiculous as its driver. Especially today.”

“Why?”

“He had one a garish shirt, leather pants and an eye patch.”

“An eye patch? Does he have pink eye?” Kim asked.

“No, I think it's supposed to be part of the whole getup.”

“Why? How is an eye patch supposed to be endearing?”

“No idea. But hey, if it makes him happy, let him.” Penny said and took the offered juice.

“Okay, we're not here to discuss the creep on the Vespa but your willingness to marry Leonard.” Cheryl said to Penny and sat down.

“What is there to talk about? All I said is that I wouldn't say no if he asked me.”

“Are you listening to yourself? This is huge! I'd be terrified if my boyfriend asked me to marry him because I don't know if I want that with him.”

“Well, I feel that about Leonard, so there.”

“What brought those feelings on?” Kim asked. “Don't get me wrong but you always had that independent streak in you that made the notion of you married somewhat implausible.”

“I don't know. We were in that club a few days ago and met Frank again. If you don't know, Frank is a physics student in one of Leonard's classes. He's also over seven feet tall and a bouncer. He saved us from a friend of Eric who behaved very badly towards me and Leonard. And when Leonard asked Frank about how it was going, Frank told us that his girlfriend is pregnant.”

“Okay, so how does that lead to your readiness for marriage?” Kim interjected.

“Getting to that. I decided weeks ago that I wanted to have Leonard's child someday. But I fear that if we're not married, those hormones could lead to a breakup once it's there. If we're married, we might fight but it shouldn't lead to an abrupt breakup.”

“From what you told us about him, he won't break up with you after a fight.”

“Maybe, but I'm more afraid that I'll be the stupid one and break up with him.” Penny admitted.

“Why would you do that?” Cheryl asked.

“I don't know. I read that in a lot relationships, the arrival of the first child changes the dynamic between the parents and oftentimes they break up, especially when they're not married.”

“Well, the first child is the second of the gigantic milestones that decides relationships.” Kim said.

“Really?” Penny asked. “What is the first one?”

“Moving in together. You can have the greatest relationship in the world but as soon as you live together day and night with no possibility of getting to your own private place to cool off, so to speak, it could get messy.”

“You're not making me any calmer about the prospect.”

“Already apprehensive about moving in with him?”

“I don't know. Going by the week we practically lived together while Sheldon slept in his office, I have never felt better.”

“But you still had your own place to go to.”

“Hey, you are not helping.” Penny said, louder this time.

“Maybe that's our plan, making you freak out more and more until you break up with him so we can have him.” Cheryl said evilly.

“Suddenly, I'm the calmness in person.” Penny said and took another sip. “But thanks, you were a great help.”

“We were? How?”

“Well, every time I think about breaking up with him, for whatever stupid reason, I only need to remember how much I don't want you two to have him. That will make me run back to him pretty fast.” Penny grinned.

“You're evil, you know that?” Cheryl pouted.

After spending several more hours just chatting away, which quickly turned to gossiping about all their other female friends, Penny drove back to her own apartment block. After exiting her car, she walked around the corner and looked up to the windows of 4A. All the lights were out, which meant that they were either in bed already or not even home, but given Sheldon's strict adherence to timetables, even on a Friday, the first option was more likely.

As she went up the stairs, she sighed in frustration. She was kind of mad at Leonard right now for being so cute and especially for being so good in bed that she wanted, no needed him badly, even after great sex last night and equally great sex in the morning.

Upon reaching her floor, she put her ear to the door to 4A and listened only to hear no sound coming from inside. Sighing once again, she entered her own place and went into the shower. Careful to remember to wash her hair, she did the rest of the bathroom routine and quickly went to bed. Unsurprisingly, the bed felt cold and uncomfortable, as it had for a while now every time Leonard wasn't in it with her. She closed her eyes and hoped for at least a few hours of sleep.

* * *

When Penny woke up the next morning, she felt like crap. Her throat felt scratchy when she swallowed and her head hurt. She desperately hoped that she wasn't coming down with something. A look at her clock told her that it was after ten already, so she got up and took another quick shower.

After finishing it, she put on some coffee and returned into her bedroom to get dressed. She discarded her robe and put on some panties and army fatigues, followed by some dark pink boots to warm her feet and a revealing red top with white straps and rim in the same color.

She got her coffee and took only two gulps before she slammed the cup down again. The hot liquid burned down her sore throat in a very uncomfortable fashion. She checked her cupboards and found some chamomile tea but unfortunately no honey which she needed to get the liquid down while simultaneously soothing her throat.

She grabbed the tea bag and exited her apartment, walking the few feet to her neighbors. She entered without knocking to find everybody, except Leonard, sitting in different places and watching the news.

“Penny, please do come in.” Sheldon said to her, involuntarily using sarcasm which he strangely enough doesn't understand when others do it.

“Sorry, I don't feel well and I need some honey for my tea.” she replied to Sheldon.

“You will also steal my tea?” Sheldon asked.

“No, I brought some of mine.”

She took their electric kettle and heated up a cup full of water, the low amount making the process fast. She poured it into her cup and dunked the tea bag into it, placing the honey she took from their cupboard next to it. While she waited for the tea to brew, the guys kept watching the news and whatever was on it slightly agitated them. She perked up her ears and listened in to the reporter.

“A NASA spokesman states that due to the loss of data, they will most likely be unable to determine the cause of the Mars Rover’s malfunction. This is not the first time an exploratory mission to Mars has ended in disappointment.”

“Thank God for Plan B.” Howard commented in a low voice.

“Howard, didn’t you say you worked on the Mars Rover?” Penny asked, remembering something he once told her shortly after she had moved in.

“No, you’re mistaken.” the engineer said without looking at her.

“Yeah, when we first met, you said that if I went out with you, I could drive a car on Mars.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

While Howard evaded her, she saw Leonard coming out of his room and mentioning for Sheldon to join him. She was a bit disappointed that he barely acknowledged her presence. The only thing that showed her that he noticed her presence was the slight widening of his eyes upon seeing her in that top. _'Whatever he wants, it must be very distracting.'_ she thought.

“Will you all excuse me? Leonard is subtly signaling that he’d like to talk to me in private.” Sheldon commented and Penny had to grin at Leonard's exasperated reaction. Both men left the room and Penny went to sit down in Leonard's armchair after putting the honey into her tea.

“I remember specifically. You started by asking if I was from Mars because my ass was out of this world.” she told Howard.

“Well, that does sound like me, but no.” he replied and in that moment Leonard exited his bedroom with Sheldon in tow.

“Hey, everything okay?” she asked her boyfriend, who looked at her with a nervous expression.

“Not really, can I talk to you?” he replied, which made her nervous too. “In private.” he added when the others looked at both of them.

“Sure.” she said and got up to walk out with him.

They walked to her apartment in silence and entered it, Leonard before her. She closed the door and grabbed him, pressing him against the door and pressing a hard kiss on his lips. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and played with his until he reacted and wrapped his hands around her hips.

“I don't know if sex is possible now, I feel like I'm coming down with something.” Penny said after separating. “But I'm willing to risk it.” she continued and started to take off her top.

“Wait. Isn't that not-feeling-well stuff something you should have said before pushing your tongue down my throat?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah, I really should have done that. Sorry.”

“Okay, I didn't say we need to talk for nothing, there really is something I need to tell you.”

“Why do I suddenly have the feeling we're about to have another fight.”

“Because something happened last night that was very bad.”

“Oookay. Tell me.” she said, suddenly apprehensive and let herself be led towards the couch.

“Here it is, yesterday Howard called us after he went to that bar to pick up women.”

“Wait, that eye patch think worked?”

“No, he said there were four others with eye patches, but that's not important. He picked up a woman by telling her she could drive the mars rover.”

“I knew it! He did offer me that when we met.”

“Anyway, either he or the woman drove the Mars Rover into a ditch on Mars and he had Sheldon and Raj help him to fix the situation and then told me to drive the woman home.”

“Does she have a name? Calling her “the woman” sounds so strange.” she said, using air quotes.

“Her name is Stephanie Barnett and she's a doctor.”

“A doctor doctor or you kind of doctor?”

“Doctor doctor. Medical.”

“Okay, I still don't see what's so bad.”

“Getting there. Well... um... we got in my car and I drove her home but before she got out of my car, she... um...”

“Leonard, spit it out.”

“Um, she kissed me.” he said in a low voice and Penny felt like she had been punched in the gut.

“She kissed you?” she asked and her voice cracked up.

“Yeah. And I'm not talking a peck on the lips as a form of goodbye, I'm talking a deep, pushing my seat down without pulling the lever kiss. Harder and more forceful than the one you just gave me.”

“But you ended it, right?” _'Oh please, tell me you ended the kiss.'_

“Um, I tried. But she is a really strong woman, especially when she was pressing me down. I managed to get her off me when she stopped to draw a breath.”

“Um, okay.” Penny said, not trusting herself to get out a complete sentence.

“Look Penny, I swear, there was nothing on my part. I have no idea what made her do that.”

“Okay, that's something to take in. You're never gonna see her again, right?” she asked and saw Leonard's doubtful face. “What?”

“I fear that she mistook my inability to get her off me for acceptance of the kiss. And if her aggressive behavior is an indicator, she might try to get more.”

“But she doesn't know where you live or work, right?”

“Right. But she works at the hospital that I have been to several times for checkups and stuff. I don't know her mindset but she knows my name and could easily look up my address and phone number.”

“Isn't that kind of stalking?”

“Maybe. Probably yes.”

“Okay, another question. Why did you take Sheldon into your room?” she asked.

“I needed to talk to someone besides you, because it could lead to massive friction between Howard and me if Stephanie really comes after me. She WAS his date before she did what she did.” he replied and Penny noticed how he avoided to say that this woman kissed him, something that she was very grateful for because this situation illustrated exactly what she feared most. A highly educated woman, who was a doctor nonetheless, was so much into Leonard that she pretty much jumped him.

She remembered doing more or less the same after Leonard had sat her up in that motel room. She didn't know what this Stephanie looked like but the whole thing brought back her insecurities about her intellectual inferiority compared to Leonard and his circle of friends. All she had to offer was a long running stint as waitress and her body, though Leonard always said it was amazing.

But this whole thing might finally show Leonard the one thing Penny knew all along and what he didn't realize about himself. That he was desirable. And if another woman was straight forward in that regard, he might see that he had better option than a community college dropout with grand dreams of becoming a famous actress.

Could that be another roadblock in telling him how she felt about him? The fear that he says it back and subsequently breaks her heart when he finds someone better? She had put herself out there once with Kurt and it left a scar on her heart. She knew that if Leonard broke up with her, she wouldn't survive emotionally. She never met someone like him, someone who could be at the same time tender yet rough in bed and shy yet assertive outside of it. He was somewhat of an enigma and that was part of his allure.

No! If it ever came to the point where another woman might take him away from her, she would fight. Fight hard. He was hers, even if he didn't know it yet. She would never give him up without fighting hard for him, no matter if the other woman was a doctor or some other accomplished professional. So what if she herself was a waitress slash actress? She thought she deserved to be happy too and Leonard was the one who made her happy.

“Penny?” she heard Leonard's voice pierce through her train of thought.

“Yeah?” she replied.

“Everything okay? You kind of zoned out just now.”

“I'm okay. Thinking about stuff.”

“Okay. Are we good?”

“Yeah Leonard. We're good so far. But I don't know how I will react if she does show up.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I might become very aggressive.”

“Oh? I could provide a cage, leotards and spears.” he grinned and received a hard glare. “Okay, too soon for jokes.”

“You think? Your lips were on those of another woman.”

“I know, okay? I feel bad enough already.”

Penny was about to retort sharply but stopped herself and took a deep breath. The last thing she wanted to do right now is getting mired in another argument that could lead to him storming out again. Last time that happened, she got roped into a horrible date with Raj and had two of the worst days she could remember.

“I'm sorry. I don't want to fight.” she told him.

“Me neither. But what should we do if she does pursue me?”

“Easy. Just tell her you have a girlfriend.”

“Right! I'm so used to us not telling anyone because we want them to find out themselves, that this didn't even occur to me.”

“Wait, here's an idea. So far, any female we know has more or less immediately realized that we are a couple. Don't tell her. If she comes over, text me. If I'm home, I'll come over and we do what we always do when we are at your place with others present. Missy, Mrs Cooper, my mom, they all immediately saw it. And if I'm there, she hopefully behaves herself.”

“And if she doesn't?”

“Then we just tell her, screw the guys. Listen, I need to do some laundry later but right now, I want to watch Sex in the City.” she said.

“That's my cue to leave. I'm going to head to the comic store.”

“I'll make you watch that show one day.” she smiled as Leonard got up and leaned down to her. “You really want to kiss me? I told you I might come down with something.”

“Then we can be sick together. If I get sick, Sheldon might banish me from the apartment again.” he grinned.

“Come here you.” Penny said after a second of thinking about it, planting a deep kiss on his lips.

As Leonard left, Penny sat back and went back into her deep thoughts. Her insecurities were still there and she was still worried about that other woman who seemed hellbent on getting Leonard. It would help if she knew what that woman looked like. If she was ugly, Penny wouldn't worry. If she was good looking, Penny still would feel safe, as Leonard told her numerous times that he found her beautiful. But if that woman could also be considered beautiful, Penny would be worried.

With a sigh, she took up her remote and watching her favorite TV show, snuggling herself into her comforter.

* * *

After several episodes, she felt herself sweating slightly but she didn't know if it came from her oncoming cold or the thoughts of Leonard pleasuring her in various ways, that came unbidden into her mind.

Standing up, she felt her clothes damp and with a curse, she went into her bathroom to take another quick shower. Luckily, she wanted to do laundry anyway and could wash her now sweaty red top and army pants with the rest.

After exiting her shower, she felt much better and put on some panties and very short shorts followed by a bra and a yellow top with a number on it before putting her hair into two tight buns. Strangely, it always made her look like a bunny.

She filled her basket with the colored load and headed downstairs, putting the clothes and detergent into the machine and the quarters in the slot. Not seeing a reason to wait around, she headed back up and put all her whites into the basket before sitting down on her couch for another episode of Sex in the City.

That one went by quicker than expected and soon Penny's oven timer dinged, letting her know that her load was finished. She grabbed her second load and headed back downstairs. Quickly emptying the washing machine she used, she put the wet clothes on one of the dryers before putting her whites into the machine. After she closed the lid and started it, she went over to put the colors into the dryer just as Leonard entered the room, basket in hand and shirts on his shoulder.

“Oh, hey sweetie.” she greeted him, happy to see him.

“Hey.” he replied and gave he a quick kiss. “Wow, those shorts really show off your legs. Makes me want to have them around my waist or neck again.”

“Play your cards right and you will. New shirts?” she asked, pointing to the ones on his shoulder.

“Yeah, a couple. Thanks for them but you could have given them to me directly.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I got these in the mail when I returned from the comic book store. A neat packet, addressed to me without a sender address on it. I thought they were from you as a subtle nudge for me to dress better.”

“Sweetie, if I wanted you to dress better, I would tell you directly. Don't you see? They came from the doctor woman.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“You told me she might look up your name and address. I think this is something of a bribe, I'd expect an invitation for dinner or something very soon.”

“That I will turn down of course.”

“Damn right you will.” she grinned.

“So I think I won't have to wash these. If she calls or comes by, I will just arrange to give them back to her.”

“Why not keep them. If she gave them to you as a gift without knowing your relationship status, why give them back?”

“Well, if you think that's... Oh oh.” Leonard started.

“What?” Penny asked.

“I think I know why she thinks I'm single.”

“How?”

“I never updated my Facebook profile. It still lists single on it.”

“Mine too. Probably why I'm getting hit on almost every day in the Cheesecake Factory or on Facebook itself.”

“People hit on you on Facebook?”

“Sure. They see my profile somewhere, probably around three corners from friends of friends of friends or like that and click on it.”

“Well, I've seen your profile picture. I'd click on it.”

“Aw, thank you. You should see the pictures of me that I'd never post online.” she winked and grabbed her basket as Leonard dumped his clothes into another machine and activated it. Before she left, she stepped into his personal space and pretty much rubbed herself to his body before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and leaving.

As she went up the stairs and reached their floor, she heard Leonard catching up with her. She turned around to see him walk briskly up the last few stairs without his basket but with a look in his eyes that she has seen a lot during the last year.

She winked at him again and entered her apartment, placing the laundry basket on the floor next to her coffee table and stretching her body with her back to the door. She couldn't suppress a grin when she heard her door slam shut followed by the sound of a hoodie hitting the floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and half pushed, half carried her into the bedroom, with her giggling the entire time.

Her giggling became more sensual when he started sucking on her pulse point, the sensation causing goosebumps to appear on her skin. She heard him opening his belt and zipper and soon heard his pants fall, wondering how he did that while simultaneously pushing her forward. As soon as her legs hit the bed, he let go of her waist and pushed her forward, making her fall flat on the bed before he pulled her backwards a bit until her knees were on the floor. With one swift move, he pulled her shorts and panties off her leaving her lying on her stomach with her shirt still on.

“I never get tired of looking at your perfect ass.” he whispered.

“Right now you should stop looking at it and put yo...OH MY GOD!” her sentence ended abruptly when Leonard entered her, the angle of their bodies allowing him to push in very deep and already stimulating her g-spot.

He didn't waste time and started thrusting hard, his skin slapping against hers, adding to the already high noise level in the room, which consisted of his groans and her moans and yells. Leonard grabbed her hair in one fist and put the other hand on her shoulder, using his grip to pull her against him with every thrust.

Penny felt her inner muscles constrict and yelled out her orgasm, which he again took as an invitation to slam even harder into her until she had finally ridden it out. He didn't stop or slow down but changed his position slightly by putting one foot on the bed which gave her even more pleasure. Her eyes rolled back into her skull as he mercilessly slammed his manhood into her in fast and regular intervals, even beginning to roll his hips so the angle of entry changed slightly with every thrust.

After seventeen minutes of relentless thrusting and three more orgasms, she felt his movements get erratic and heard his breathing change. He let go of her hair and placed his now free hand between the bed and her body to rub her nub in sync with his movements. She felt her coil tighten rapidly and as she climaxed a fourth time, she took him with her.

He collapsed on her back with a loud grunt, his lips on her neck, gently sucking at the exposed flesh not covered by her shirt. She grabbed behind her and stroked the skin around his hips, not knowing what else to do with her hands.

“Wow, you always know how to do me for maximum pleasure.” she panted.

“Glad to hear that. I always try to remember everything that made you climax for future reference.” he replied and pulled out, grabbing some of her wet wipes and handing her some.

She used them to clean herself up and went into her bathroom to finish the job. She went back out to find Leonard, again clad in his pants, lying on her bed with a satisfied smile on his face. She knew that she had the same expression on her face as she put her own panties and shorts back on and lay down, putting her head on his chest.

“I kinda like it when you do me rough like that.” she said.

“Good, that means I don't have to feel guilty when I can't control myself around you.” he smiled back at her.

“Right back at you. Don't be surprised if I rip your clothes off you and ride you into oblivion.”

“If that happens, at least I die happy.”

“Hey! It's not like that would happen.”

“You never know.”

“Leonard? Stop talking and kiss me.” she ordered and he complied without complaint.

He pulled her chin up and placed his lips on hers, his tongue begging for entry which was promptly granted. She pulled herself up some more to get a better angle and deepened the kiss, her tongue pushing his back into his mouth. Her arms went under his neck to get a better hold while his own wrapped themselves around her waist again, holding her close and tight to him.

She felt such a phenomenal amount of bliss right now, she never wanted the moment to end. Unfortunately, a ding of her oven timer ruined the moment when it indicated that her laundry, and by extension his, was done.

“Come on, we need to get our laundry.” she said and thought about the words she just used. Our laundry. It was scary how great that sounded in its literal meaning. Her lack of apprehension made it even more apparent to her that Leonard was the endgame for her. And no doctor would take him away from her!

They went downstairs and Penny grabbed her dry laundry before both put their wet loads into a dryer each. Instead of going back up, he simply grabbed her and pressed her to him, standing against the wall simply cuddling and kissing until the dryers were done. They grabbed their laundry and after folding it put it into their respective baskets.

They walked up the stairs, chatting about nothing in particular and Penny immensely enjoyed his presence and his looks at her behind when she walked in front of him. Every time that happened, she made sure to swing her hips just a little bit more to show him what she could give him.

As they reached their floor, they found Howard standing in front of the guys' apartment and when he turned to them, she saw his face contorting into anger directed at Leonard.

“Hey Howard, how's it going?” Leonard asked him.

“I got a call from Stephanie a few minutes ago. You are dead to me now.” the engineer replied and walked into 4A.

“I think she told him why she wouldn't go out with him.” Penny said.

“But I have no intention of going out with her.”

“I don't think Howard cares for that. All he knows is that you are responsible for the doctor not wanting him.”

“She wouldn't have gone out with him with or without me in the picture.” Leonard tried to reason.

“I'm not the one you have to convince. In his eyes, you are responsible for the relationship not happening. Or at least the sex. But if you need to, you are welcome to sleep at my place tonight.”

“Gladly.” he said and kissed her before going into his apartment.

* * *

Penny woke up the next morning, shivering. When she and Leonard had said their goodbyes in the hallway, she had showered and put on a skimpy thong and nothing else before getting into bed on top of the covers, waiting for her sweetie to arrive and ravish her upon seeing how she was waiting for him.

Yet at some point she had fallen asleep and no Leonard had appeared during the night. She fought her way into the bathroom and cleaned herself up, putting on her robe before getting back out to put on some coffee. As she waited, she took her phone to check her messages and found a long message from Leonard.

**Sorry for not coming over. Got into a long and arduous argument with Howard until I got a headache, then Stephanie showed up again. Unfortunately, she kissed me again right after arrival and now the guys think even more that me and her are in a relationship. But she mentioned her roommate and got Howard a date with said roommate, so at least he and I are good again. Text me when you're up and want to talk to me, I'll come right over.**

Penny sat back with a sigh as her coffee maker finished brewing. So Stephanie had actually visited and kissed him again! Her Leonard! She didn't feel disappointment in Leonard, only rage at this doctor woman. Stephanie Barnett. That was her name!

Penny booted up her laptop and logged into Facebook. She entered the doctor's name and looked at her profile. She was good looking enough facially and Penny got a small knot in her stomach when she clicked on the doctor's photo albums. Stephanie had a little more body mass then Penny but she wasn't ugly.

_'Cleavage wise she reaches my level.'_ Penny thought, glad that her own ass was slimmer and firmer than the doctors. She only had to get Leonard to touch hers a lot and she wouldn't have any problems, at least in the short term. The intellectual gap was still a sore point for her though, the woman was a medical doctor, for crying out loud. She remembered Leonard's text and grabbed her phone again.

**I'm awake now. If you're available, you can come over.**

Instead of a text answer, a knock on her door announced his arrival. He entered without waiting for her to call and found her sitting on the couch, her laptop open on the table and cup of coffee in hand.

“Hey, did you watch the morning news?” he asked her as he sat down next to her and she shook her head in response. “Apparently, Howard's screw up with the Mars Rover caused it to find signs that there may have been life on Mars.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah. And he's of course very unhappy about that since he can't take credit for it.”

“Why not?”

“Because he might become famous but would also go to prison. He invited a woman without the proper clearance and played around with a two-hundred million dollar project.”

“Wow, that must suck for him. But I don't really feel any sympathy with him, since he introduced that doctor woman to you.”

“I take it you read my message from last night.”

“Yeah. She kissed you again?” she asked, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

“She did. I was arguing with Howard when she knocked. Sheldon let her in, she ran at me and kissed me again. She then mended fences with Howard by hooking him up with her roommate but I excused myself with the headache I got from the argument.”

“Did she leave?”

“I hope so. I don't know if she left right away but I didn't stay around to make sure.”

“Okay.” Penny sighed. “Do you know that I waited for you yesterday, lying on my bed and clad in nothing but a thong? I woke up this morning and I was freezing.”

“Just a thong?”

“Whoa, that's the only thing you took from that sentence?” she asked a little incredulous and a lot amused.

“Sorry. If you say things like that I can't see anything else in my mind and the only thing I hear is the blood rushing past my ears, towards an area below my hips.”

“At least I still have that effect on you.”

“The day you stop having that effect on me is the day I go blind and lose all feeling in my hands.” he grinned.

“Wow, you have a way with words.”

“What I lack in height and muscles, I make up with wits and eloquence.” he smiled back and Penny put her right arm around his shoulders to kiss him on the cheek.

“Leonard?” she whispered into his ear. “I'm still only wearing a thong under my robe.”

She grinned when she noticed Leonard shiver and felt the familiar heat pooling in her abdomen. She blew some air against his skin and saw goosebumps appear on his neck, grinning while she did it.

“You don't say.” Leonard croaked.

“Oh yes. And since you once again kissed another woman, you need to make it up to me. A lot.”

“But I didn't kiss her, she kissed me.” he complained, only to receive a pointed glare from Penny, that was rendered useless by her smile. “But I still need to be punished.”

“Yes, you do.”

She led him into the bedroom and after a few hints, he got the message and took off his clothes. She pushed him on the bed and, still in her robe, straddled his abdomen and leaned over him. His hands wandered up and down her legs under her robe and out again. With a smile, she bent down and captured his lips in a deep kiss, her forearms to the left and right of his head.

She stood up and put her hands under her robe, dropping her thong low enough for it to fall the rest of the way by itself, a move that Leonard highly enjoyed given the ever increasing hardening of his manhood. She grinned and sat back down, lowering her upper body again but not kissing him this time.

“You kissed another woman.” she admonished playfully. “For that, you may not touch me this time.”

Putting a hand on his mouth to prevent any acoustic complaints, she opened her nightstand drawer and pulled out a box, opening the lid as she did. She pulled out its contents and grinned evilly as she sat back up again. She took Leonard's left arm and lifted it to the left bedpost, securing his wrist to it with one of the handcuffs she got from her nightstand and quickly repeating the process with his other arm.

Despite the need burning inside her, she very slowly opened her robe, teasing him by only opening it slightly so he could see parts of her breasts. Almost by reflex, his arms attempted to grab her robe and pull it open but unfortunately for him, they were made immobile by her punishment.

“Do you want to see this body?” she said with a tone she had tried to perfect and started to call acoustic sex.

“Yes.” Leonard hissed and his upper body jerked upwards as if being pulled by a magnet.

“Why?” she asked innocently, her voice still low.

“It's the only body I ever want to see.” he replied without missing a beat.

Penny then obliged him and opened her robe, spreading it wide and discarding it to the floor. She arched her back, still on his abdomen and shook out her hair with her hands, the movement pulling her breasts up and making them bob up and down slightly. Penny of course knew that they would do that and also knew that Leonard loved to see those movements.

She looked down on him and saw his eyes glued to her chest. He licked his lips and that innocent act only increased the heat between her legs, making her ache for him. But she still needed to attempt to play her part, although it became harder with every second.

“Kissing another woman twice makes your statement unbelievable.” she hissed again, her smile assuring him that she didn't mean it in a negative way, while she slowly scooted up his body, her heat reaching his upper chest.

“I never kissed her! I only want to kiss you. I l...” Leonard stammered.

Whatever he wanted to say would have to wait until later when Penny couldn't take it any longer. She almost jumped the remaining distance, pressing her heat on his mouth, while her hands grabbed the headboard of her bed. His didn't lose any time to surprise, his tongue starting rapid movements over her sensitive skin immediately upon contact.

He let his tongue run over her labia and pressed it hard on her clit, flicking it pointed movements before sticking it directly into her. Penny's eyes rolled back into her skull at his ministrations, his skill finally having reached the phenomenal level. She started rocking back and forth, the sensations making her unable to stay still.

As usual, it didn't take long for him to make her climax and Penny soon shuddered as the orgasm rushed through her. She moaned loudly and pressed herself harder on him, her movements an invitation for him to push his tongue even deeper into her, rapidly moving it around her inner walls and salivating the taste of her.

She put her feet down and leaned backwards a bit while grabbing the back of his head. She pulled his head upwards and scooted backwards an inch so his lips separated from her heat. She watched him as his tongue kept moving along her labia and clit, the movement of her skin sending even more shudders through her. The view in front of her eyes gave her the same feeling as watching herself live getting pounded by him, when they had hooked up the camcorder to the TV.

Her second orgasm came almost by surprise, its lack of announcement offset by its intensity. She gave a silent scream as the wave of endorphins crashed like waves through her body and she collapsed backwards on his body. Her lower body still in his reach, he kept licking her while she kept twitching. Finally she sat up again and scooted backwards, leaning down again to catch his lips in a searing kiss and tasting herself on his tongue.

“Good job, Leonard. But don't think this will be all.” she said and sat up again, grabbing his manhood and guiding it to her entrance before sitting down.

She slowly let her weight do the job of taking him in, the familiar feeling of him filling her out making her moan loudly. It had only been twenty-five hours but it felt like they hadn't had sex in a week. All this made her incredibly worried about their next one-week hiatus when mother nature hit her again.

She wanted to go slow at first to drag him along as per her plans for punishment but her almost frightening need quickly put the kibosh on that. After only a few seconds of slow movement, she sped up and soon enough, the room was filled with the banging sounds of her headboard hitting the wall and her screams of pure pleasure.

She ignored the time she was riding him, just enjoyed it. She climaxed once, twice, then a third time. She bent down and kept moving her hips up and down while she pushed her breasts into his face, letting his tongue swirl around her nipple.

“Penny please, I need to touch you!” Leonard shouted, his arms straining against the cuffs.

Penny was glad that she bought the padded cuffs instead of the regular, or else Leonard would have probably have deep cuts in his wrists by now. Luckily, the cuffs were also trick cuffs and instead of needing a key to open, they only needed the push of a small button. Penny quickly opened the cuffs first on his left arm and then the right.

As soon as Leonard's arms were free, he wrapped them around her waist and held her close before he started to pump his hips in sync with hers. Penny again felt the coil tighten as her eyes rolled back into her skull. She screamed and sunk her teeth into his shoulder as she climaxed for the sixth time tonight and felt Leonard climax with her, his groans filling the room as he spilled into her.

They spent the next few minutes simply cuddling in each others arms while they both worked hard to get their breathing back under control. If that didn't bind Leonard to her, she didn't know what else she could do. But the way he was holding her told her more than words could convey, it was the hold of someone who never wanted to let go. Unfortunately she had to work today, so letting go was kind of important later.

As she closed her eyes to rest them for a few minutes, Penny unfortunately didn't realize that before she connected her heat to his mouth, he had been about to tell her the three magic words she wanted to hear.

* * *

After dressing in some brown pants and green top, Penny let Leonard head back into his apartment so he could do some work for his upcoming lecture that he missed the night before. She headed downstairs to get her mail and while she slowly walked down, her face was lit up in that look that told everyone who knew what it meant that she had just been pleasured thoroughly be the man she loved.

“Penny, hello.” she heard Sheldon's voice from behind her as she emptied her mailbox.

“Hey, Sheldon.” she greeted back as he got his own mail.

“What is shaking?”

“I’m sorry?” she asked incredulous.

“It’s colloquial, a conversation opener. So, do you find the weather satisfying? Are you currently sharing in the triumph of some local sports team?”

“What’s wrong with you? You’re freaking me out.” she said and attempted to get away, his behavior truly scaring her.

“I’m striking up a casual conversation with you. Sup?”

“Please don’t do that.” she tried to stop him.

“All right, But I’m given to understand that when you have something awkward to discuss with someone, it’s more palatable to preface it with banal chit chat.” he clarified.

“So, this wasn’t the awkward part? What do you want?”

“Are you aware that Leonard has apparently entered into a new romantic relationship which probably includes a sexual component?” Sheldon asked her and Penny had a feeling were this was going. Did he finally figure out that she and Leonard were together?

“Okay, feeling the awkward now.” she said instead, not used to Sheldon talking about those things.

“Her name is Dr. Stephanie Barnett and she is a highly distinguished surgical resident at Freemont Memorial.”

Okay, so he hasn't figured it out but instead had connected the wrong dots. Penny sighed and wondered why Sheldon thought that Leonard was dating that doctor woman when he has always rejected her.

“What makes you think they are in a romantic relationship?” she asked.

“When Doctor Barnett came by yesterday, she greeted him with a kiss. And not just those kisses you have given him sometimes but one of those unsanitary kisses where way too much saliva is exchanged.”

“Gross, Sheldon.” she said. Luckily, she felt the opposite when she thought about the saliva exchange that she has with Leonard. Although kissing sounds nicer.

“Yes, exactly. Totally gross. But you need to understand how important this relationship is to me.”

“To you?” she asked and now she was even more confused.

“Yes, because you see, of the handful of women Leonard’s been involved with, she’s the only one I have ever found tolerable.”

“Hey, what about me?” she asked, shocked at his bluntness.

“The statement stands for itself.”

“Well, aren’t you sweet?” she said and attempted to leave.

“Anyway, should you have any interaction with her, it would be most helpful that she not see you as a sexual rival.” he called after her and made her stop in her tracks.

“Oh Sheldon, I can have Leonard with a snap of my finger.”

“I'm aware that you flaunt your sexual characteristics like a carrot to a donkey pulling a cart but consider the following scenario. You’re sitting in your apartment, it’s late, you’re alone, your hypothalamus is swimming in a soup of estrogen and progesterone and suddenly even Leonard seems like a viable sexual candidate, or a hookup as it’s referred to by today’s urban youth.”

“Really?” she said sarcastically.

“Yes. Now, should that happen, I would ask you to find some way to suppress your libido.”

“I could think about you.” she said. 'Or I do what I always do. I call Leonard and we will have a love fest that leaves me like a puddle of goo, twitching in orgasmic bliss.' she added in her head.

“Fine, whatever works.”

“Always nice talking to you, Sheldon.” she said and went up the stairs, hurrying into her apartment in case Sheldon followed her up to strike up more awkward conversations.

**Sheldon just advised me to suppress my libido should I feel the urge** she texted to Leonard.

**Why?** came the reply.

**Because your “relationship” with Doctor Stephanie is very important to him because she is the only woman he can tolerate. Those were his words**

**Why does he think I'm in a relationship with her?**

**Because she greeted you with a kiss last night**

**Dear lord. But hey, if you have sexual urges, call me ;)**

**That's exactly what I thought when he said that :D**

**I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid like inviting her**

**That will be awkward. But I have to get ready for work now. See you tonight?**

**You bet. Have fun at work :-x**

**After morning sex I usually get great tips. So we'll see. Bye sweetie :-x**

Putting down her phone, she headed into the bedroom to change for work. She hoped that the pattern of morning-sex-equals-great-tips continued because then she would be able to afford more kinky underwear for Leonard's pleasure.

* * *

In the end, her expectations were even exceeded. Despite being roped into an extra half shift due to a scheduling conflict of one of her colleagues, she came home in a good mood after receiving enormous tips. When she entered her apartment, she did a facepalm when she saw her phone lying on her coffee table. She picked it up and saw a message from Leonard from just fifteen minutes ago.

**If you're home, come over quickly. Sheldon used my phone to invite Stephanie for dinner**

Penny threw her phone on the couch and ran into her bedroom, taking off her uniform and grabbing the first dress she could find. She put it on and checked herself in her mirror, the yellow sundress giving onlookers a good view of her cleavage and legs due to the shortness of it. She checked her hair and makeup and hurried into the hallway and quickly entered 4A. She found Leonard sitting in his usual place, Sheldon in his spot and Stephanie on the other side of the couch. The look in Leonard's eyes told her of the gratitude he felt right now.

“Penny, welcome. We're currently having dinner.” Sheldon said deadpan, with a look that said 'What are you doing here?'

“Great, I'm starving.” Penny replied and went to the kitchen area, deliberately ignoring Sheldon's unspoken question.

“I'll help you.” Leonard said and got up.

“But Leonard, we don't have enough for her.” Sheldon added and followed him into the kitchen area.

“Sheldon, you just explained scientifically that we do have enough for all of us.”

“Yes, for the three of us.”

“But there is some left.” Penny said and scooped the rest of the pasta on a dish.

“Penny, do you understand that this is supposed to be a date?” Sheldon asked her in a hushed tone.

“If it is, why not sending Leonard away?”

“Because it's his date with Doctor Barnett. But he has been in a foul mood ever since we sat down.”

“Then why did you sit down with them if it's supposed to be a date just for them?

“To help them.” Sheldon said as if that explained everything. “Look, if Leonard fails at this relationship, and history suggests he will, then we risk losing the medical officer that our landing party has always needed.”

“What landing party?” Leonard asked, while Penny just looked confused.

“You’re Kirk, I’m Spock, Wolowitz is Scotty, Koothrappali is the guy who always gets killed, Penny is the female extra walking clueless and aimlessly around the ship and now we’ve got McCoy.” Sheldon explained, and gave Stephanie a strange wave with his fingers like a V. Penny recognized this as the hand gesture Spock always did from the time she had watched an episode of Star Trek with Leonard.

“Sheldon, I didn't want this. If you want her in our group, you woo her.”

“I don't woo. And of course you want this, you kissed already. Logic dictates that you want her in a sexual way.” Sheldon stated and Penny could see the exasperation in Leonard's face.

“Sheldon, you can't just dictate who Leonard is allowed to date.” Penny said.

“I don't dictate, I give pointed nudges in the right direction. And now get changed Leonard, we're going to the movies.”

“What? We are?”

“Yes. And Penny, you aren't allowed to come.”

“Why not? I can go to the movies if I want.” she said.

“If you continue to interfere in Leonard's relationship, I will make your living highly uncomfortable.”

“And if you continue to piss me off, I will make your continued existence very painful.”

“Fine, we're not telling you where we're going. Come on Stephanie, or we're going to miss the previews.” Sheldon said and Stephanie jumped up, walking out of the apartment. “Leonard, we'll be waiting by her car, don't dilly dally too long.”

“Penny, help.” Leonard whined after they were alone.

“Go to the movies. And try to let her down easy, she seems way too eager for my taste. And Sheldon too.” she said and put her hands on his shoulders.

“I hope they sell hard liquor at the theater.”

“Do you think getting drunk is a good thing?”

“Being caught in a dark place between Sheldon, who will constantly comment on the movie and Stephanie, who'll probably try to grab me while all I want is to sleep next to you? Yeah, I think alcohol is a solution in that case.”

“Aw, that was so sweet. Still, go, before Sheldon comes back up.” she said and gave him a loving kiss.

They left the apartment and parted in the hallway. Penny went back into her apartment and prayed to whoever was listening that this whole thing would be over soon. She wanted her Leonard back all for herself. Not seeing a sense in just sitting around, she did her bathroom routine and went to bed.

* * *

The next morning, Penny got up at a reasonable time and after taking a quick shower, she put on some makeup and got dressed. When she took her phone, she saw that she had a voice mail waiting. She listened and heard Leonard give a short, garbled and definitely unintelligible speech, which only told her that he couldn't help himself and got drunk. Whatever those two put him through last night must have been horror for him because usually he didn't get wasted to that extent.

Before she even could make her coffee, the distinctive knocking of Sheldon sounded off her door and she rolled her eyes. The day was already beginning badly.

“What?” she asked after opening the door.

“This is banana bread.” Sheldon said and held out a loaf of said bread, wrapped in foil.

“This is a door knob.” Penny retorted, pointing to her door.

“It’s my understanding that an unsolicited gift of food can be a precursor to an impromptu invitation to come in and chat.”

“Sheldon, would you like to come in?” she asked him, exasperation entering her voice.

“I suppose I could spare a few minutes.” he replied and came in. “Were you robbed?”

“No.” she said and looked around. Sure, she never has been tidy but to think that was the result of a robbery was ludicrous.

“How can you be sure?”

“Sheldon, what do you want?”

“I’m certain this will come as no surprise to you, but Leonard is failing in yet another relationship.”

_'Because he's not putting any effort into it since he already is in a very good and fulfilling relationship with me.'_ Penny thought proudly. “He’s having problems with Stephanie?”

“She’s sending virtual livestock to random men on the internet. She might have spent the night in his bed but if I have any hope of keeping them together, I need data. Specifically, I need to know exactly what Leonard did that caused you to pop an emotional cap in his buttocks.”

“What?” she asked, not understanding a word he said.

“Again, urban slang. In which, I believe I’m gaining remarkable fluency. So, what is the down and the low? And don’t worry, this is all entirely confidential, so, you feel free to include any and all shortcomings in the bedroom.”

“I'm not divulging any information about what happens in my bedroom.”

“Because?”

_'Because way too many people already know what happens there. And if I tell you how good Leonard is pleasuring me in there, you might get an ulcer.'_ “Oh, okay, all right, you know what? I’ll tell you what happened. We were young, we were very much in love, but we could only communicate through a time-traveling mailbox at my lake house.” she said instead, quoting a movie they saw together.

“It’s not enough that you made me watch that movie, but now you mock me with it?”

“Sure. Wait, back up a second, Stephanie spent the night in his bed?” she asked incredulous.

“Yes. Leonard couldn't stomach all the alcohol he consumed so she had to help him up the stairs. And to my knowledge, she never left until this morning, when she had to go to work. And now please excuse me, Koothrapali is waiting for me downstairs to take me to work since Leonard is too hungover to drive me and had to take the day off to cure his hangover.” Sheldon said and left.

Shaking her head, Penny left her apartment and hurried into the other one. She desperately hoped to find Leonard clothed, otherwise it could mean that this Doctor Stephanie took advantage of him in his drunken state. As she reached the bedroom area, she heard retching from the bathroom, before the toilet was flushed and Leonard stumbled out into the hallway.

“Penny? Is that you?” Leonard asked, looking at her through squinted eyes.

“Yeah.” she whispered back, knowing how much loud noises were a bother during a hangover.

“Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Between Sheldon's constant babbling and Stephanie’s attempts to fool around and putting her hand into my pants, I needed something strong to bear that.”

“She put her hand down your pants?” Penny shouted and Leonard twitched in pain. “Sorry. Lets get you to bed.”

She helped him back to bed and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water before getting back. She placed the water on his nightstand and grabbed some of the pain pills he had in his drawers, the same ones he provided for her once after she had had a terrible hangover. She got him to swallow one of them and he collapsed back into bed. She watched him lie there for almost half an hour when he opened his eyes again.

“Thanks.” he said and sat up.

“The pills already work?”

“Yes. I told you, they are very strong. But I still feel like a doormat.” he replied and drank the rest of his water.

“What happened last night?”

“I don't really remember, just bits and pieces. Us sitting in the movie theater, me trying to keep her from grabbing me in very intimate areas, Sheldon's constant babbling. We went to a bar afterwards, there I got really wasted. Then I remember being dragged upstairs and put to bed.”

“At least you're still in your underwear. If I had found you naked, I'd have been very worried that she might have taken advantage of you.”

“I think given my condition last night, my friend down there would have had an impossible time coming out to play, no matter who tried to lure him out. Except you maybe.” he added with a grin.

“You're cute. Listen, I need to get to work soon. Will you be okay?”

“Yeah. I rest for an hour more and then I will hide in your apartment. If I say I'm sick, Sheldon will get Stephanie, since she is a doctor. But I really need to finally tell her that I'm not interested.”

“How will you do that?”

“I just tell her that you and I are dating. If we do it together, she should believe us.”

“And if she tells Sheldon?”

“Screw that. Let him know.”

“Okay. Although I still enjoy messing with him.”

“Me too.” he grinned.

“Okay, I need to go now. Get better and I'll see you tonight.” she said and pressed a kiss on his lips before leaving to get changed.

* * *

“Penny, are you alright? You look worried.” Cheryl's voice woke her from her thoughts.

“Yes, I'm fine.”

“You don't look it. What's going on?”

“It's Leonard.” Penny sighed and closed her eyes.

“Did you break up?” Cheryl asked and Penny couldn't help but notice the glimmer of hope in her friend's eyes.

“No, we didn't. But there is another woman courting him, and courting him hard. And to top it off, she is a medical doctor. And although Leonard assured me that he isn't interested in her, and I believe him by the way, she is very aggressive in pursuing him. And the worst thing is, his roommate is helping her.”

“What? Why?”

“Because he wants to have a Doctor McCoy in their so-called “Landing Party”. That some Star Trek reference I think.”

“So, what's the plan?”

“Leonard will try to explain it to her to let her down easy. I'm concerned that she might not take the news well, she clearly seems unstable in that regard.”

“I thought she is a doctor?”

“She is. Which means, she has access to scalpels and drugs. Not a good combination when you get rejected by a guy you think is into you and whose roommate adds fuel to that fire.”

“Penny, don't you think you are interpreting too much into this?”

“Maybe I am.” Penny sighed.

“So, what's the news on the three magic words front?”

“Still haven't found courage or opportunity yet. I almost thought he was going to say it last night when he was handcuffed to my bed but I kind of made him unable to speak.”

“You handcuffed him to the bed? You dirty girl.” Cheryl laughed as Penny blushed when she realized what she had just admitted.

“Shut up. It was a form of punishment because he let that doctor woman kiss him.”

“I bet he really liked your idea punishment.”

“About as much as I like his ideas of punishment.” Penny said, unable to stop grinning.

“I know. I have seen that in a video once, remember? As I recall, he took one hour to punish you.”

“Oh yeah. That was one of those great nights.” Penny gushed, almost giddy at the memory.

“Dear lord, if you could see yourself right now. You look as if you want to run home, get naked, lift your ass into the air and tell him to take you as hard as he can.” Cheryl stated.

“Don't give me ideas, it's already hard enough to concentrate right now.” Penny replied and covered her ears before she headed back into the restaurant.

After finishing her shift, Penny drove home and took a shower. Changing into some sweatpants and a baggy shirt, she sat down on her couch to watch some TV. Not knowing if Leonard was home, she decided to write him a message instead.

**Are you home?**

**Yes, already in bed. Don't feel too well because of last night**

**Did Sheldon try to call the Doctor?**

**Yes. But she's on call at the hospital until ten tonight, so she won't come over. I just told him I need rest**

**And here I was wondering if you could come over, I'm sitting here naked**

**Really? O.O**

**No, sweatpants and baggy shirt. I would never sit around naked without you here ;)**

**Good to hear. I'll try to go to sleep now and hopefully tomorrow I'm back on my feet again**

**Sweet dreams :-x**

**If you're in it, they will be :)**

Penny grinned at the last message. Leonard always had a way of making her feel loved and appreciated and when saying thinks like that, he also made her feel desired. To pass the time, Penny watched the second half of the first season of Sex in the City until she was interrupted by the familiar knocking behavior of Sheldon.

“What?” Penny asked.

“Penny. Zucchini bread.” he stated, holding a loaf of bread in his hand.

“Oh, thank you.” she said and took it. At least she got something to eat.

“May I come in?” the lanky physicist asked her and attempted to step forward.

“No.” Penny replied which made him stop in his tracks.

“I see. Apparently my earlier inquiry regarding you and Leonard crossed some sort of line. I apologize.”

“Well, thank you.”

“So, have you and I returned to a social equilibrium?”

“Yes.”

“Great. New topic. Where are you in your menstrual cycle?”

_'What the hell? Doesn't he have any inhibitions?'_ '“What?” she managed to ask instead of punching him.

“I’ve been doing some research online, and apparently female primates like apes, chimpanzees or you, they find their mate more desirable when he’s being courted by another female. Now, this effect is intensified when the rival female is secreting the pheromones associated with ovulation. Which brings me back to my question, where are you in...”

She didn't give him the chance to finish his inquiry and slammed the door in his face. She went back to the couch and started the video again, but her mind was distracted by Sheldon's behavior. How dare he assume she was an ape! But he had right one thing. Since she learned that this Doctor Stephanie was after Leonard, Penny felt herself being drawn to Leonard even more.

“Dammit, I really am a female ape, I don't want her on my territory.” Penny said to herself and picked up her phone to text Leonard.

**Sheldon just asked me if I'm menstruating.**

**Say what?**

**He doesn't want me to interfere in the courting that the doctor is doing**

**Courting? You mean this aggravated stalking she's doing? ^^**

**Whatever you want to call it. But he was right about one thing. I want you even more now :-x**

**Good to hear. Now you won't be convincing should you say no when I demand you to get naked and on the bed :-p**

**If you do me in my favorite position, why would I say no ;)**

**I'll remember that.**

**Why are you still awake?**

**I couldn't sleep and was reading some of my lecture notes. I had just turned off my lights when you wrote me so I wasn't asleep yet**

**Oh, I feared that I might have woken you**

**No, but I need to sleep now or I'll be too tired during the lecture**

**Sleep well :-x**

Penny put the phone down again and finished the episode she was watching currently. Once she was done, she changed into her more loose pajama shorts and pink top, headed to bed and after an hour of tossing and turning because of the lack of Leonard by her side, she finally fell asleep.

* * *

Thanks to a full bladder, Penny woke up pretty early, almost at eight and quickly did her ablutions before something bad happened. After finishing in there, she put her hair up in a messy bun and headed into the kitchen. She poured water into her coffee maker and opened the cupboard to get the coffee but to her horror, the box was empty.

“God dammit, I forgot to steal coffee from the Cheesecake Factory.” she said to herself and grabbed her cup. She headed into the hallway and opened the door to 4A without knocking. “Out of coffee. Need coffee.” she mumbled with her eyes half closed. 

Her feet automatically walking the correct route into the guys' kitchen. In some far away part of her brain, she realized that she walked this route several times when Sheldon had been living at the university and back then her mind had also been foggy from the sexual satisfaction she got from Leonard.

“Uh, hello.” an almost familiar female voice greeted her and made her eyes open.

“Hi!” she replied, shocked at the woman's presence. “Stephanie, right?”

“Uh-huh. And you are?”

“I’m Penny. We met before when you ate dinner here, remember? I live across the hall.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Leonard? Why haven’t I heard a thing about this woman who lives across the hall and comes into your apartment in the morning in her underwear?”

“She’s here because she's a good friend and I enjoy her company and you never asked about her. Come here Penny, coffee is still hot.” Leonard said and Penny was grateful at his interruption.

“To assure you, they never had coitus.” Sheldon stated and Penny grinned and winked at Leonard, whose facial expression mirrored hers.

“Thank you, Sheldon.” Leonard said sarcastically.

“You’re welcome, Leonard.” he replied sincerely, again not understanding sarcasm.

“Leonard, don't you think it's strange that your neighbor simply comes in here without knocking? In her underwear?” Stephanie asked.

“No, I like seeing her like that.” Leonard started and Stephanie's face lit up in what Penny hoped was realization but actually resembled rage and disbelief. “In fact, some mornings I’ll just mosey down to the third floor in my pajamas and have cereal with Mrs. Vartabedian.” he continued and Penny wondered if he was joking.

“Really? I have never once been invited to have cereal with Mrs. Vartabedian.” Sheldon piped in.

“That's because she doesn’t like you, like every single on of our neighbors. Okay Stephanie, you said that you have a gall bladder to remove and I have to get in the shower, so bye.” Leonard simply said and headed for the showers.

“Well, it was very nice meeting you.” Stephanie said to Penny and Penny knew that the woman was actually saying that she hated her guts right now.

“Nice to finally meet you, too.” Penny replied sweetly, egging her on.

“What could I possibly have done to offend Mrs. Vartabedian?” Sheldon wondered aloud and headed into his room.

“So, what was Stephanie doing here?” Penny asked Leonard after sneaking into the bathroom behind him.

“Apparently Sheldon invited her to breakfast while I was in bed last night. I wonder how he got her cellphone number.”

“You know, she seems very nice.”

“Oh, she is. She’s terrific if you like that stalker-y type.” Leonard stated, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“Come on, do something. This is getting out of hand.”

“I will talk to her later, I promise. Also, I haven't given her any indication that I'm interested in her. The only one making her think that is Sheldon.”

“If you don't tell her, then I will.”

“I think I should be there, otherwise you might hurt her.”

“Damn right I will. You are mine!”

“Getting possessive, aren't we?” he grinned.

“You bet your ass I am. Especially when someone wants to take you away from me.”

“I'm going to take a shower now.” Leonard changed the topic and took off his robe and clothes before he stepped into the tub and closed the curtain.

“What the...? You can't just get naked and then shut a curtain.” Penny whined as he opened the tap.

“What are you going to do about it?” his voice called her like a siren's song.

Grinding her teeth, Penny quickly got out of her shorts and top and jumped after him into the tub. She pressed her lips hard against his and his body against the wall, just barely managing not to slip and fall.

“Is this a good enough answer?” she panted, already out of breath.

“Almost.” he grinned and grabbed around her to cup her ass. “But remember, Sheldon is next door.”

Cursing inwardly at the need to remain quiet, she nevertheless wrapped one leg around his waist, using the other to steady herself while she lifted her arms to grab the curtain bar. Once she had both hands around it, she wrapped her other leg around his waist as well just as he snaked his arms under her legs to hold her up.

Using one hand to guide himself, he pushed into her. Penny connected her lips to his and moaned into his mouth as Leonard started thrusting forward, with the slaps of their skin connecting getting drowned out by the running water. One of his arms returned around her waist, holding her close to him as he kept moving his hips in a fast rhythm, the mixture of his manhood moving inside her and the simple thrill of having shower sex with his whacky, unsuspecting roommate next door proving too exhilarating for Penny to endure long.

She climaxed with a squeal and felt Leonard come with her, spilling into her as he groaned. He let go off her waist and she put her feet back down, keeping in contact with him to steady herself. Only a three minute quickie and she was vastly out of breath. Leonard helped her clean herself up and both stepped out of the tub, drying each other off and getting dressed, Penny in her pajamas again and Leonard in his own underwear and brown pants that Penny has never seen before.

“New pants?” she asked as he put them on, starting to scratch himself immediately.

“No. They were hanging in my closet and I took them.”

“Okay? I have never seen them on you, that's why I'm asking.”

“Come to think of it, me neither. But they were further in the back of my closet, maybe that's why. But lets head out now, Sheldon should be ready for work.”

Both stepped out of the bathroom and were met by Sheldon who just came out of his own room. He looked at both her and Leonard with a questioning look on his face.

“Penny, were you inside the bathroom when Leonard was taking a shower? That's highly inappropriate, given that Leonard is in a relationship with Doctor Barnett.”

“I'm not, Sheldon.” Leonard tried to get to him.

“Sheldon, Leonard and I just had sex in the shower.” Penny stated.

For a few seconds, nobody said anything. Penny kept a straight face and looked at Sheldon, who seemed to contemplate what she had just said. Instead of answering though, he gave a strange sounding breath-in laugh.

“Oh Penny, you crack me up.” he stated and walked out into the living room.

“Wow.” Leonard simply said and followed him, shaking his head. Penny grabbed the now full coffee cup and together they left the apartment and while the two guys headed downstairs, Penny went back into her own apartment.

* * *

“Okay, what is Leonard doing differently than any other guy?” Cheryl's voice echoed from behind her.

“What do you mean?” Penny asked and turned around, seeing her friend and Kim standing there.

“Well, I tried morning sex with my boyfriend during the last few days but while he can't stop grinning, I still don't get more tips than usual. Yet here you are, breezing through the restaurant, picking up thirty percent or more in tips and you have that glow again.” Cheryl complained.

“Because I'm in love.” Penny said dreamily. “And I had shower sex this morning.”

“Dammit Penny. Give him to us, at least once. We'll pay you.” Kim whined.

“No way. Get your own Leonard. But not mine.” Penny poked out her tongue and left the break room to finish her shift.

After the shift, which had turned out to be very profitable again, Penny came home and after a quick shower, she changed into a pair of jeans and a blue top with flowers. The cut of the top accentuated her cleavage in a very positive way and she once again thanked her mother for the genes. She grabbed the dirty towels that had piled on during the last few days and went back outside. During her descent down the stairs, she smiled at the events that had unfolded during her shift. Having Cheryl and Kim envy her like that made her strangely giddy, especially enjoying the fact that their boyfriends weren't up to the task.

_ 'That's because they aren't in love.' _ Penny thought and skipped happily down the stairs until she reached the laundry room. Her good mood rose even higher when she saw the source of her happiness standing in front of one the machines.

“Oh hey.” she greeted him.

“Hey yourself. Wow, you look sexy.” he said and she pushed her arms together to make her breasts stand out even more while enjoying his look. “Makes me want to take you right here and now on the washing machines.”

“As enticing as that sounds, I'd rather not do it in a place where anybody could walk in at anytime.”

“Spoilsport.”

“If you behave, you can play with them later, while we wait in my apartment for our laundry to finish.” she suggested with a smile.

“Deal. Oh, do you have any fabric softener?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure.” she replied and handed him her still half-full bottle only to watch him empty its entire contents into the washing machine. “What are you washing? A crocodile?”

“No, the pants that I put on this morning. That must have been the reason they were hanging way back there.”

“Oh, sweetie, you can’t machine wash these. They’ll be ruined.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” she said and without taking his eyes off her, he put in the coins and started the machine.

“Oh, no. I wish you’d told me that sooner.” he said but Penny knew that he didn't mean it.

“Why do you buy pants that are that uncomfortable?”

“That's just it, I don't remember buying those pants, ever. Even the color sucks.”

“Honey, you have other pants in similar colors.” she said with a wink.

“Then I have no idea.”

“Are you sure that those didn't come from Doctor Stephanie?”

“No why would she... But... Oh my god!”

“What?” Penny asked, suddenly worried.

“When I was reading the other night while I didn't feel good, I overheard snippets of a conversation Sheldon had on the phone. He was talking about pants and sizes.”

“What? Are you saying that that doctor lady bought you pants after getting your measurements from Sheldon and hung them in your closet?”

“I didn't say that but that possibility seems more and more plausible.”

“Seriously, you need to tell her off. I'm getting even more worried now.”

“What can I say? I don't want her to snap.”

“Just tell her you aren't interested in the kind of relationship she wants, no matter what Sheldon might have told her to the contrary.”

“Yeah, I could say something like that to her. I’ll do that. Thank you.”

“Sure.”

“You have a really good grasp on this. Maybe you could talk to her?”

“You’re kidding, right? She might hurt you but if she finds out that I'm the reason for your disinterest, she might kill me.”

“Not that that would happen, but okay. I’ll go talk to her. Want to come with?”

“No! I'm going to my apartment to wait for my laundry. You drive to either her home or the hospital she works in and clear the whole thing up.”

“Penny, I'm scared.”

“Just go. I will take care of your laundry and later you can play with the girls.” she said and squeezed her arms together again.

“You're mean. You know I can't say no if you do things like that.”

“Of course I know.” she grinned and pushed him out of the laundry room, while he grumbled.

Penny took her phone and started playing Angry Birds while she waited for the laundry to finish. She hope that Leonard would return soon, as he was a far better way of spending time but so far he was a no-show. After forty-five minutes of simply playing and some internet surfing, she emptied both their washing machines, putting all clothes in one dryer to save money and throwing away the pants he had ruined by washing them.

Another thirty minutes passed while she waited for the laundry to dry and once that was done, she took her own and folded it quickly, considering that they were mostly blankets and towels. She then took Leonard's laundry, folding his shirts and not-ruined pants and giddily handled his shorts, knowing what's usually covered by them.

She grabbed his laundry basket along her own and went up the stairs. Knowing that Leonard was probably still out talking to Doctor Stephanie, she went straight into her own apartment, putting away her clothes and towels, placing the blankets back onto the bed. Suddenly, she heard the familiar Sheldon knocks again but his voice was strangely flat and metallic.

“Sheldon?” she asked him after opening the door and saw him standing there with his laptop in his hands

“I have an inflamed larynx.” a speech generated voice said after Sheldon typed for a few seconds.

“Okay?” she asked, not getting why he told her that and he typed some more.

“We’re out of herbal tea. Do you have any?” the robotic voice asked.

“Okay, let me check.” she replied with a grin and turned towards her cupboards.

“Some hiney would be nice, too.”

“Hiney?” she asked after turning around, only to see his face light up in confusion and even some horror.

“Honey.” the speech generator corrected after a little more typing.

Grinning, she took two bags of herbal tea out of the bag but unfortunately for him, she hadn't had the opportunity to go shopping yet so she was still out of honey.

“Here you go. I still don't have any honey though.”

“Thank you.” he let the laptop say and left.

She closed the door and smiled at his behavior, wondering what that was about. He didn't look sick, normally you'd run a fever when having an inflamed larynx but whatever he really had, at least he was quiet. Just then, her door opened and Leonard hurried in, closing it again and leaning against it. He took a deep breath and Penny just had to go over to him and give him a quick kiss and long hug.

“Hey sweetie. I put your clothes in the dryer and got them after they were done.” she told him after separating again.

“Thank you.”

“But your pants are ruined.”

“Good. By the way, they were from Stephanie. She did put them into my closet when I wasn't there.”

“So, how did the talk with her go?”

“Well, she wasn't at the hospital or her home, she was actually at my place.”

“What was she doing there?”

“Sheldon called her over while we were down in the laundry room. He had her examine him and if there is one good thing she did, she made Sheldon shut up by telling him that he has an inflamed larynx and had to stop talking for several days.”

“I know. He was here a few minutes ago with some speech generator on his laptop, asking for tea and some hiney.”

“Hiney?”

“Yeah, it was so funny if you think about it. Was a typo though. He corrected it right after.”

“Well, I would have nothing against some of your hiney.” he grinned.

“Maybe later. But now tell me, is all cleared with Stephanie?”

“Yes, I think so.” Leonard replied and sat down on the couch.

“How did it go?”

“Huh. She yelled, I stayed quiet, she threw things, they hit me. She broke my bat signal she had hidden under my bed. At least Sheldon couldn't bug in with his commentary because of his “illness”. But she left in a huff and I don't think she's coming back now.”

“My poor sweetie.” she said and started massaging his shoulders. What surprised her, and even more so that it took her that long to even realize it, that he wasn't wearing his usual hoodie but a dress shirt without an undershirt. Not that was complaining as his usual attire did leave something to be desired.

“Mh, that feels good. Keep doing that please.” he said and turned his back slightly to give her better leverage.

“Okay. You're awfully tense.” she stated and continued her massage, feeling him relax more and more. She got on her knees to get even better leverage. After working on his shoulders a few minutes longer, she leaned in and started kissing his neck, feeling him shiver when she did that.

“That feels even better.” he said and turned his head to capture her lips in a slow kiss.

The kiss had started as a simple contact of their lips but soon got more heated when she let her tongue beg for entrance which was promptly granted. His right hand went behind her head to pull her closer and her arms closed around his neck and chest, holding herself up against him.

“Leonard?” she asked after stopping the kiss.

“Yes?”

“I would like to have sex with you.” she grinned at him, and his expression mirrored hers.

“Well, if you insist.” he smiled back and got up, taking her hand and leading her into her bedroom.

Once inside, he stepped into her space again, wrapping his arms around her waist as hers went around his neck, connecting their lips again to continue the kiss from before. He put his hand on her ass and started caressing her cheeks, while she slowly opened the buttons on his shirt.

She realized that this wasn't a passion-fueled start to a session of rabid fornicating. It was slow, giving and sensual. She let his shirt fall after he spread out his arms behind him and opened his pants and hers, letting hers fall and stepping out of them. At the same time, he pushed the straps of her dress off her shoulders, its looseness making it fall as soon as they were down. He stepped back from her to let his own pants drop and took an appreciative glance at her.

“I didn't know you had violet underwear.” he stated, taking in the sight of his goddess standing in front of him.

“Bought them a week ago.” she said and kissed him again, his hands once again going on her butt.

She felt heat and moisture pooling between her legs and took a step backwards to her bed, pulling him with her. He lifted her arms from her cheeks and opened her bra, letting fall down to the floor like her dress. She pushed the waistband of his shorts down until it reached his thighs from where on gravity did the rest, leaving him standing naked in front of her while she still wore her panties.

He pushed her with him until her legs hit her bed. She sat down and when her head was on the same height as his stomach, she resisted his attempts to push her even further until he stopped. She bent forward and grabbed his manhood, feeling it harden under her touch. She gave the tip a quick kiss and took him completely into her mouth where it kept getting harder and bigger to the size she was used to have inside her.

After only two minutes, she stopped and scooted backwards with a smile as he followed her onto the back with eyes black with desire. He grabbed her panties and pulled them down, leaving her lying naked in front of him. Following her actions, he kissed his way up her left leg, reaching her inner thighs.

Penny's legs spread automatically and her hips bucked upwards when his tongue and lips connected with her heat. With expert ability, he let his tongue roam around her sensitive flesh, licking, sucking, nipping and even softly biting, making her breath hitch when she climaxed almost violently, her entire body twitching rapidly.

“Oh my god, Leonard. You really are the king of foreplay.” she panted but still pulled him upwards. “But as much as I enjoy you licking me, I need you inside me now.”

He lifted his upper body and her legs with it, positioning himself correctly before pushing his manhood into her. She gasped at the contact, the familiar feeling of him filling her out something she had missed dearly since their shower encounter. Even though a lot of her former dates and boyfriends before Leonard were better endowed than him, his manhood always felt much better than anyone else's.

“You are so beautiful.” he whispered before his lips started sucking on her pulse point while he kept thrusting at a slow and at the same time exhilarating pace.

She met his thrusts with her hips, the feeling of their skin meeting making her moan loudly when he hit her g-spot. That was the other thing that made him so different than the other guys she was with in her life. He had learned her body so well that he knew exactly what angle he had to hold her to hit her most sensitive spot with almost every thrust.

She felt the orgasm come on for several minutes, like watching a car come closer in slow motion. But as soon as she felt the could snap, her legs wrapped around his waist and her lips connected with his. She screamed into his mouth as she finally came. This had been an almost excruciating slow pace and had felt almost like a sneeze building that just wouldn't come out.

“I take it you enjoyed it.” Leonard grinned down after she had ridden out the climax.

“That was amazing.” she panted and met his gaze with hers, seeing nothing but love in his eyes.

“I still owe you more.”

“Really? It's not like we had a week-long dry spell.”

“I know. But you had to watch another woman courting me.” he said and stood up.

“It wasn't that bad.” she tried to assure him.

“Really?” he asked with a bit of trepidation in his voice while he opened her drawer and grabbed the rubber band she kept in there. Her eyes went wide when she saw what he wanted to do. She couldn't stop smiling and he picked up on her anticipation.

“Oh no, you were so bad. You need to make it up to me. A lot.” she purred and turned onto her stomach.

“Ah, now the truth comes out.” he said and climbed into bed behind her, knowing that she wasn't really serious.

As he entered her and made her eyes roll back in delight and her teeth connecting to her pillow, she knew that their relationship had survived another assault. She knew that even without the three magic words she wanted to say and hear, their love had been strengthened by the ordeal. And no doctor had taken him away from her. She didn't know what the future would dump on them next but she couldn't imagine anything worse and an accomplished female hunting Leonard. And Penny thought that if she could beat a woman like that, she could beat any female who wanted to take her Leonard away from her.

And as she yelled out the first orgasm of the many she would receive from him in this position, she knew that soon she would be able to tell him her feelings in words, not just in deeds.

* * *

**So here it is, the Stephanie portion of season two. I hope you liked it :)**

**For those of you who yearn for the “I love you” to be actually said out loud, rejoice. While it didn't happen here, I have already mapped out the chapter and situation where one of them will finally say it. Until then, stay tuned :D**

**Remember, the more of you review, the faster I write (if life lets me of course ^^)**

**Review please :)**

%MCEPASTEBIN%


	22. Chapter 22

**This one was a pain to write, not just because of my current condition but also because I HATED this particular episode when I saw it on TV.**

**And that's not just a turn of phrase, I literally, viscerally hated The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis, because it showcased exactly what kind of promiscuous slut Penny was in the earlier seasons, sleeping with a guy she just met and didn't even bother get to know, despite her knowledge about Leonard's feelings for her. And it also showed how spineless Leonard was, just because Penny burst into tears when Leonard finally confronted her.**

**But enough of my ranting.**

**Enjoy :)**

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going. **

* * *

"Mhhhhh." Penny moaned, enjoying the ministrations Leonard was giving her. "That feels so good, please don't stop."

"As you wish." he replied, continuing what he was doing.

They were lying in her bathtub, surrounded by the hot water she had filled it with before and both, but especially Penny, were basking in the afterglow of their latest lovemaking. It had started innocent enough, Leonard had come over for a dinner for two while the rest of the guys were playing a game.

Of course, it couldn't have stayed innocent. After they were done eating, Leonard had done the dishes and Penny couldn't believe how great this display of domesticity felt to her. After he had finished and hung the dishtowel back on its hook, she more or less pounced on him, almost crushing him to the ground with her body and ripping the clothes off his body and hers.

And before he had even been able to comprehend what had happened, his manhood was rock hard at the sight of her naked body standing above him and she had simply bent her knees to sink down and bounce hard on him until he climaxed. Never mind the fact that she had climaxed three times.

Unfortunately for him, her eagerness had been both exhilarating and painful, the hard floor beneath him not as giving as a soft mattress while his blond goddess rode him hard. Luckily she had believed and run a bath for him to sooth his flaming loins, as she had called it, but as soon as he had made himself comfortable in her tub, she simply had to join him.

That left them in their current position, with her sitting between his legs and leaning against his chest, while he gently and slowly rubbed her center, driving her crazy with his slowness. His finger flicked over her nub, causing her to hiss, or ran along her labia, opening her up. Sometimes, he stuck a finger into her, causing her to do a little jump. But the last thing she wanted was for him to stop.

“You know what we could do to make this bath memorable?” she asked him, turning her head towards him to get access to his lips.

“Not have sex?” he replied sincerely.

“Yeah, we could... wait, what do you mean, not have sex? I was about to suggest just that.”

“Well, think about it, how many times have we taken a bath together? A real bath, lying down, showers aren't included in that.”

“Um, four times, I think?” she replied, trying to remember. “Five, counting tonight.”

“Correct. And do you know how many times we had sex during those four previous baths?”

“Um, three times.”

“Right, and if you hadn't had your period that one time, we would have done it then too. So, a memorable bath for us would be one without sex when it's not made impossible by mother nature.” he grinned.

“But there's no fun in that.” she pouted.

“I agree. But it would be a novelty.”

“As if you could resist me if I work my magic on you.”

“Really? Maybe I could.” he stated defiantly but in a voice laced with humor.

Instead of replying verbally to his challenge, she scooted up a few inches until her center was over his crotch. She started to wriggle her behind over his body, grinding her hips and, with a grin, felt him harden below her. Penny kept doing this for two minutes and she felt him struggle to keep his breathing even.

His attempts to stay cool were cute but she knew that he wouldn't be able to resist her for long, he was a man after all. When she felt his still hardening manhood move over her center, she let out a soft moan and knew she had won.

“Wow, resistance is really futile.” Leonard moaned when his erection was complete.

“That's a Star Trek reference, isn't it?”

“Wow, you understood the reference? You just became even hotter to me.” he moaned and moved his right hand back to where it was during the entire bath, causing Penny to moan again.

“I noticed.”

“Funny. Happy that you won the bet?”

“Oh yeah.”

“You do realize that I need to do something about that now.”

“Really? And what would that be?” she asked playfully, knowing exactly what he wanted because it was the same thing she had been longing for since his hands went between her legs.

He grabbed her behind and lifted her up, one hand guiding his manhood to her entrance. When she felt his tip between her folds, Penny simply let her weight do the rest, sinking down on him and taking him completely into her with a loud groan. She put her hands on the rims of the tub and used them as leverage so she could take charge of their connection.

As Leonard's hands went to her hips, she started bouncing hard, repeating the same position they did on the kitchen floor an hour ago with the only difference being that her back was turned to him. Having done a position like this quite often, she knew exactly what angle she had to do to get the maximum amount of pleasure.

She had no idea how long they had been at it when she cried out his name in orgasmic bliss, stopping her movements to ride it out. Her inner walls clenched and unclenched rapidly, milking his manhood but he stayed hard inside her.

“Please keep going Penny.” he almost begged and she couldn't not comply. She started her movements again, the water in the tub beginning to slosh back and forth and once again splashing to the floor.

She leaned backwards and he understood her hint, grabbing her hips harder and taking over the active part. She started yelling his name again when his tip hit her g-spot again and again and again, making her eyes roll back into her skull at the sensations she was experiencing. No matter how often they did it, she would never get tired of him moving inside her, hitting all her sensitive spots until she could do nothing else than scream his name in delight.

One of his hands returned between her legs and started rubbing her again, this time in sync with his own hip movements. The two-pronged attack made her breath in audibly and after only a minute, she climaxed violently, her entire body shaking as if she had been strapped to an electric chair. With a loud groan, Leonard climaxed inside her and he pushed his manhood deep into her and she could feel him twitch as well as he unloaded.

“Wow, amazing as always.” she panted and lifted herself up so he slid out of her. She really would have liked to keep him inside her longer but the water was getting cold and she needed to wash up before they got out. She used two fingers to clean herself out and, after finishing, stood up when goosebumps appeared on her skin, thanks to the cool water.

“Wow.” she heard him say from behind her.

“What?” she asked and turned her head but not her body.

“Oh, I'm just amazed again at how lucky I am to have someone like you. You have such a great body, it borders on criminal.”

“You do know how to sweet talk a lady.” she grinned and playfully shook her ass, an action that was rewarded with a loud groan. She mirrored his groan when he suddenly sat up and ran his tongue over her folds from behind her.

“Leonard! Not now.”

“But you taste so great. Don't you like it?”

“Of course I do! But the water is getting cold and if you start to do that now, we won't get out of the tub for at least twenty minutes. And then some. Because I wouldn't want to stop pressing my hips against your face until you are hard again.”

He released her and she stepped out of the tub, quickly followed by him after he pulled the plug. They dried themselves off and returned to the bedroom where Leonard put on his shorts and shirt and got into bed. Instead of choosing her regular pajama pants, she took an oversized shirt and put that on.

“You realize that I won't be able to keep my hands from you tomorrow morning, knowing that you wear nothing under that?” he asked when she climbed into bed beside him.

“I know.” she grinned and clicked off the light.

She turned on her left side and settled into her covers when she felt Leonard molding his body to her back. His right arm went around her hips and pulled her closer and their legs almost automatically intertwined.

“Good night Penny.”

“Good night Leonard.”

She knew that it would be good night because the man she loved was in her bed, holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world. And to Leonard, she was.

* * *

When Penny woke up the next morning, she was alone. She turned around and listened for the sound of a running shower or movement in the other rooms to find none. She got up and scuffled into the living room, seeing it devoid of other people. She went to her kitchen counter and found a thermos flask filled with coffee and a note.

_ I know that you usually want me to wake you for breakfast but you looked so cute and peaceful, I couldn't bring myself to do it, since you have a late shift tonight. L :-x _

Penny smiled after reading the note. Although she was a bit miffed that he didn't wake her, she was also warmed by the fact that he was considerate enough to let her sleep in. She poured herself one cup of coffee and quickly gulped down its contents before heading into the bathroom.

Quickly taking off the oversized shirt, she took a shower and brushed her teeth. After getting dressed in a jeans and a green shirt and returning to the living room, she emptied the thermos flask into her coffee cup and sat down on her couch. She knew that the guys were at their place of work and since she had nothing to do, she booted up her laptop.

On Skype, which she had Leonard made to start automatically on booting, she saw Leonard's contact online. She didn't lose any time to call him.

“Hey sweetie.” she greeted him after he accepted the call.

“Look who's finally fell out of bed.” he grinned back.

“Hey! It's not that late.”

“It's after ten.”

“What? Already?”

“Yeah.” he said and Penny noticed the deflated tone in his voice.

“Sweetie, what's wrong?” she asked him, a bit concerned.

“Oh, just that my work has been completely made useless by another scientist who got the MacArthur grant and I now work with this guy.”

“What's the MacArthur grant?” she asked.

“It's also called the Genius Grant and it is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation to several individuals from any field, who show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work.”

“And how did his work make yours useless?”

“His observation of high-energy positrons has provided the first conclusive evidence for the existence of galactic dark matter.”

“I won't even pretend that I understood what you just said.” she smiled. “Is he like you?”

“What do you mean, like me?”

“You know, nerdy and cute.” she smiled.

“As far as I know, he doesn't do nerdy things and he's taller than me.”

“Doctor Hofstadter?” she heard a voice saying off camera.

“Yeah?” she saw Leonard reply, head turned to his right.

“I found the photomultiplier lab and set the system up, now it only needs your check-over. “

“I'll be right there. And you could have left your helmet in the lab, it looks ridiculous when you carry that thing around everywhere like a security blanket.” Leonard said and turned his head back to the screen. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem. He drives a motorcycle?” she asked, excited.

“Yeah, why?”

“Oh, I just love riding on a bike. The vibration beneath you, shaking my body to its core. Even had sex on one once.” she grinned.

“Having your hear describe the times you had sex with other men is still hot.” he replied, the sarcasm evident in his voice.

“Sorry. Can't help myself. But hey, if you had a bike, I'd have sex with you on it.” she said with a wink.

“Maybe I'll get one.” he said with a small smile. “Listen, I gotta go, he's waiting.”

“Okay. See you soon.” she said and he disconnected the call. She sat back into her couch and sighed deeply. Since she had four hours to spare before she needed to head to work, she decided to go out to shop a bit. She needed some groceries anyway.

* * *

Penny arrived at the mall and headed to the main doors. Inside were the usual bustling masses of people walking around, the sound of dozens of people talking meshing together in a cacophony of sounds that made it impossible to make out a single conversation.

On her way to the grocery shop, she came across a gift shop. Since Christmas was around the corner, she decided to get something for Leonard and Sheldon, despite the fact that they had agreed on not giving each other anything because of her being regularly strapped for cash. She walked around in the store and couldn't find anything until she came to the gift coupons.

Smiling, she took the one for motorcycle lessons, remembering what she said to Leonard and getting hot when imagining herself being bent over the seat of a motorcycle, getting ravished by Leonard, his hands on her hips while he does her hard from behind. Reading the coupon on her way to the cash register, she didn't look in front of her and startled with a gasp when she ran into something.

“Oh my god, I'm so sorry.” she said to the woman she ran into, who was taller than her.

“It's okay, nothing happened.” came the reply. “Hey, I know you. You're Penny, right?”

“Yeah?” Penny said confused, taking a closer look at the woman. She did seem familiar and after a few seconds, it finally came to her. “You're Alice, right? Franks girlfriend.” she hopefully guessed right, seeing the visible baby bump on the woman.

“Yeah. It's fiance now though.” Alice replied and showed her the ring on her left ring finger.

“Wow, that's beautiful. When did that happen?”

“About a month after we found out about my pregnancy, after he got the job at that lab.”

“That's so great. How far are you along now?”

“Five months. It's a boy.” Alice grinned widely.

“Congratulations!” Penny said and hugged her.

“Thank you. Although I'm a bit concerned when it comes to pushing him out of me. You have seen his father. But hey, could you do me a favor and thank Leonard for giving Frank that tip with the lab job? Frank said it's the best thing he could have found and the professor he is working for even offered him to be his thesis adviser.“

“I'll do that. What is a thesis adviser?”

“You know, Frank wants to get a PhD after graduating.”

“Wow. I still have a hard time imagining Frank as anything else than a bouncer or wrestler. I know it's unfair but seeing a man like this and doctor isn't something you see combined often.”

“I know. I mean, there are other guys who are tall and handsome. I was visiting Frank an hour ago and there was another scientist, who wants to do an experiment in the photomultiplier lab Frank works in. If you see that guy, you would never think scientist or physicist.”

“That's a coincidence. Leonard is helping another scientist and I overheard them talking about a photomultiplier lab.”

“Could be the same guy. His name is Dave Underhill. Good looking but also somewhat creepy.”

“Really? Why?”

“He carried his motorcycle helmet everywhere and get this. He hit on me!”

“What? No!”

“Yes! I'm standing there, engagement ring visible on my finger, baby bump visible under my shirt and he comes up to me, invites me to lunch and a ride along the coast on his motorcycle. I had to keep Frank from stomping him to the ground.” Alice almost yelled and Penny couldn't repress a laugh. “And the worst thing is, at first I wanted to say yes. That guy has a way of looking at you when he talks that makes it hard to resist him, like a hypnotist.”

“So I will have to keep my wits about me should I meet him.” Penny grinned.

“Well, as long as you don't visit your boyfriend in his lab, that will probably not happen.” Alice said and picked up another bag of chocolate-coated nuts, to which Penny raised an eyebrow. “What? I get cravings.” the pregnant woman explained herself.

“Not judging. I usually have a hard time when PMS coincides with Halloween.”

“When I have PMS, the hard time usually falls on Frank.” Alice replied with a smile. “So, what are you up to today apart from grocery shopping?”

“I have to be at work in... two and a half hours.” Penny said after a short pause to look at her watch. “I get a new uniform today so I have to drive there in civilian clothes and change in the ladies room.”

“Don't you have an employees room?”

“Yes, but that's a co-ed room, I don't want to stand there in my underwear when one of my male colleagues comes in.”

“Understandable. Although you have nothing to be embarrassed with.”

“I'm not. But only one man is allowed to see me in less than regular clothes.”

“I'm almost envious at how much in love you seem to be, makes my relationship with Frank seem like a dalliance.”

“I really want to say I'm sorry, but I can't figure out a way to sound sincere.” Penny laughed and Alice joined in.

The two women kept talking while each finished their shopping. Unfortunately their talk included lots of standing still and when Penny drove home, she had only half an hour to get home, pack away her groceries and get to work.

* * *

Penny managed to get home and her groceries packed away in about fifteen minutes, leaving her another fifteen minutes to get to work. She knew that it would be tight if she didn't want to break numerous traffic laws, since she couldn't really afford any tickets. She left her apartment and hurried down the stairs only to find Leonard being helped up the stairs by a very attractive man.

“Oh, hey Leonard. Are you okay?” she asked concerned.

“Oh, yeah. It’s just a little motorcycle accident.”

“My God, how fast were you going?”

“I don’t know. It’s all such a blur.”

“Ha ha ha. Good one.” the tall guy laughed and Penny was already pissed at his condescending tone. “He couldn’t even get it started. Hi, I'm Dave.” he said and held out his hand.

“Hi. Penny.” she replied and shook the offered hand. “So it’s your motorcycle?”

“Uh-huh. Luckily it wasn't damaged.”

“Yeah, lucky for the bike it landed on my leg.” Leonard said sarcastically.

“You mind giving me a hand with speed racer here?” Dave said before Penny could react to Leonard's remark.

“Yeah, sure.” she said and put Leonard's other arm around her shoulders. “So Dave, how do you know Leonard?” she asked the guy. She already knew who he was but after her talk with Alice, she wanted to know if he really was as slick as Alice painted him.

“I’m a physicist.” Dave stated.

“Ha-ha. No, you’re not.” she replied, but seeing that Alice had been right to notice that Dave wasn't what she imagined a physicist to be.

“Why is that so surprising?”

“Uh, well, it’s just that the physicists I know are indoorsy and pale.” she said, looking at Leonard and picturing Sheldon.

“I’m not indoorsy. I just wear the appropriate sun block because I don’t take melanoma lightly.” Leonard interjected.

“So, are you and Leonard working on an experiment together?” she asked.

“Yeah, actually we are.”

“Yeah, we’re examining the radiation levels of photomultiplier tubes for a new dark matter detector.” Leonard clarified.

“You know, I love science.” Penny said, knowing that it was kind of an overstatement.

“Since when?” Leonard asked, calling her on it.

“Since I met you.” she told him with a smile.

“Well, if you like, I could show you the lab we’re working in. We’ve got some cool toys, you know, lasers and stuff.” Dave suggested, his voice getting lower when they reached the fourth floor.

“Leonard, are you okay here?” Dave asked and let go of him and Leonard leaned against the door to his apartment.

“Uh, yeah. I guess.” Leonard replied.

“How about we go see my lab now?” Dave asked her. “Maybe afterwards we take the bike up the coast, we grab a little bite to eat…” he continued and Penny felt her resolve slipping. Alice had warned her about his voice and eyes and she had to admit, that guy was good.

“I need to get to work, I only have about ten minutes to make a fifteen minute drive.”

“I can drive you on my bike. I have an extra helmet.”

“Really? That would be great.” Penny said and almost ran down the stairs, not realizing that she didn't even say goodbye to Leonard. She got outside and saw the motorcycle standing on the curb. She had waited two minutes when Dave finally showed up.

“Okay, here you go.” he said and handed her the helmet that had been under the seat.

“Thanks.” she replied and put it on, getting on the backseat of the motorcycle and grabbing hold of his jacket.

She shivered when he started the bike, the familiar and long-missed vibrations getting into her core. This would be perfect if it was Leonard in front of her but this was almost as good. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the ride as Dave drove her to the Cheesecake Factory.

After almost ten minutes, he stopped and Penny found herself in front of her place of work. She quickly hopped off the bike and took off the helmet, handing it to him.

“Thank you. But I need to get inside, I'm already late and I still have to change.”

“How long is your shift?” he asked her.

“Six hours. Gotta go, bye.” she said and headed into the employee lounge, grabbing her uniform. She went into the ladies room and closed the door to change into her new uniform. Once she was done, she did a last check-up on her hair and with a sigh, went out again to start her shift.

* * *

“Hey girl.” a familiar voice greeted her.

“Hey Cheryl.” Penny greeted her friend with a smile, knowing that a shift barely went by where she wasn't questioned by either one or both her friends, depending on what shifts they had.

“So, do Kim and I finally have the opportunity to bag Leonard?”

“What the hell? Of course not. What makes you think that?”

“Well, you got here by ways of being brought by a tall hunk who I had the chance to talk to. Before you ask how, I was reaching him just as you hurried inside.”

“What did he say that makes you think I'm not with Leonard anymore?”

“Oh, he said that Leonard told him you were a couple but he viewed the concept as ridiculous. And the fact that you apparently didn't hesitate a second when he offered you the ride here and a bite to eat. To me, that sounds like a lunch date.” Cheryl explained.

“What? No, I mean yes, he asked me to get a bite to eat but I told him that I was late to work and then he offered me a ride. But I didn't agree to a lunch date.”

“Well, in his mind you did. I bet he will pick you up after your shift.”

“If he does, great, saves me the cab.”

“Penny! I hope you realize how this looks.”

“What do you mean?”

“As if you don't know. You are egging this guy on, thinking he has a chance.”

“Don't be stupid.” Penny said defiantly and walked away. She had tables to wait on.

“And don't forget how this looks in Leonard's eyes.” Cheryl called after her, making Penny pause. She turned around but Cheryl had already gone to her own tables and that last comment ignited the flame of worry inside her.

She walked towards one of the tables she was working on when she saw someone in her peripheral vision that was in some way a familiar face. When she turned around to look more closely, she saw a man sitting in the back of the restaurant, newspaper in hand and empty appetizer dish in front of him.

“Oh my god.” she said to herself when she finally recognized the man to be Leonard Nimoy, the man she had seen numerous times on TV when the old Star Trek series ran on the guys' TV. Seeing him sitting there, wiping his mouth with his napkin, she suddenly had a great idea for a Christmas present for Sheldon that was better than the honey-scented soap she bought him.

“Excuse me?” she asked him after reaching his table.

“Yes?” he replied in his distinctive voice.

“I don't want to bother you, but could I ask you a favor? My neighbor is a huge fan of yours and I thought I could ask you to autograph something so I can give it to him as a Christmas gift and I'm rambling and I'm going to stop talking and watch you with hopefully puppy-dog eyes so you say yes.” Penny finished and took a deep breath.

“You're a sweet young woman.” Leonard Nimoy said with a laugh and took the napkin he just used and a pen. “What is your friends name?”

“His name is Sheldon.” she replied and watched him write something on the napkin before he gave it to her.

““To Sheldon: Live long and prosper. Leonard Nimoy.” Oh, thank you so much, Mister Nimoy.”

“That name sounds familiar. By any chance, is the last name of your friend Cooper?”

“Yes, how do you know?”

“Oh, I have a restraining order active against him.” he said and Penny could only stand there with her mouth open.

“I'm sorry, I didn't know. Sheldon is my boyfriend's roommate. And what a coincidence, my boyfriend's name is also Leonard.”

“Then I hope for my namesake that he does a good job not getting on your nerves like this Sheldon did with me.”

“No, he is very sweet and I love him very much.” Penny said with a smile. She turned her head and saw the evening manager look pointedly at her. “I have to get back to work. Thanks again very much, Mister Nimoy.”

“No problem. And your Leonard is a lucky man. Have a nice night.”

Penny walked around doing her job for the next few hours, glad every time she had something to do. Because as soon as she had any time to think, Cheryl's words echoed in her head, how the whole thing of her leaving with Dave looked to Leonard.

On the other hand, when she told Leonard Nimoy that she loved her Leonard, she wasn't kidding. She didn't have any inkling to start anything with Dave Underhill, even if he was as smart as Leonard and had the type of body that she used to fall for. And while she also thought that Dave was probably good in bed as well and was undeniably charming, his condescending nature was something she had really started to hate as soon as he showed that side of his.

“Guess who's sitting at the bar, waiting for your shift to end?” Cheryl whispered in her ear as Penny cleaned her last table, collecting the tips the customers left for her.

“Leonard is here?” Penny asked.

“No, the other guy that brought you here. Funny enough, he keeps holding his helmet in his hands.”

“Dammit. I really don't want to deal with him right now, it's bad enough that he didn't believe Leonard when he told Dave that he's my boyfriend.”

“Then simply sneak out.”

“I can't, he brought me, remember? Also, my clothes are still in the employee's lounge.”

“I could take you home.”

“I will still have to deal with him. I need to go by the bar to reach the lounge.”

“I have an idea. Go to the ladies room. I'll head to the lounge and open the connecting door. And I tell him.”

“Great idea.” Penny said and did as Cheryl told her. She headed into the ladies room and walked to the closed door to the lounge. To prevent customers entering the employee area, you couldn't open the door from this side without a key and said key was hanging inside the lounge. She waited for a minute until the door opened to reveal a grinning Cheryl.

“What are you smiling about?” Penny asked her.

“Oh, just the fact that you sneak out to avoid a good looking guy. Two years ago you would have run to him and opened the top button of your shirt and bent forward.”

“Yeah well, I've grown up.” Penny said and poked out her tongue. “But come on, I want to get home.”

Luckily for them, Cheryl had parked behind the restaurant and as they left, she looked in the rear view mirror and saw Dave exit the Cheesecake Factory. Now she only needed to tell Leonard that he doesn't have to worry a bit and her mind would be clear again. Although she wouldn't mind some angry sex before clearing the air. 

* * *

After Cheryl dropped her off, Penny went up the stairs and entered the guys' apartment without knocking. She found Sheldon, Howard and Raj in the living room, dressed in what looked like bowling league shirts, but to her dismay, Leonard was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey guys, where is Leonard?”

“He's in bed, already asleep I presume. After he managed to drop a motorcycle on his leg, he decided that taking some pain medicine and going to bed early is better than playing a round of Wii bowling with his friends.” Sheldon explained.

“Oh, too bad. By the way, are you and Leonard putting up a Christmas tree?” she said.

“No, because we don’t celebrate the ancient pagan festival of Saturnalia.” the lanky physicists replied.

“Saturnalia?” Penny asked, confused.

“Gather round, kids, it’s time for Sheldon’s beloved Christmas special.” Howard piped in and Penny knew that one of those unwanted Sheldon Cooper monologues was coming.

“In the pre-Christian era, as the winter solstice approached and the plants died, pagans brought evergreen boughs into their homes as an act of sympathetic magic, intended to guard the life essences of the plants until spring. This custom was later appropriated by Northern Europeans and eventually it becomes the so-called Christmas tree.” Sheldon finally finished his exposé and Penny could only look at him with an open mouth.

“And that, Charlie Brown, is what boredom is all about.” Howard piped in again, making her smile a bit.

“Okay, well, thank you for that, but I got you and Leonard a few silly neighbor gifts, so I’ll just put them under my tree.”

“Wait! You bought me a present?” Sheldon asked, and she could hear something like shock in his voice. “Why would you do such a thing?”

“I don’t know. Cause it’s Christmas?”

“Oh, Penny. I know you think you’re being generous, but the foundation of gift-giving is reciprocity. You haven’t given me a gift, you’ve given me an obligation.”

“Don’t feel bad, Penny.” Howard said to her. “It’s a classic rookie mistake. My first Hanukkah with Sheldon, he yelled at me for eight nights.”

“Now, Sheldon, it’s okay. You don’t have to get me anything in return.”

“Of course I do. The essence of the custom is that I now have to go out and purchase for you a gift of commensurate value and representing the same perceived level of friendship as that represented by the gift you’ve given me. It’s no wonder suicide rates skyrocket this time of year.”

“Okay, you know what? Forget it. I’m not giving you a present.”

“No, it’s too late. I see it. That elf sticker says “to Sheldon”. The die has been cast, the moving finger has writ, Hannibal has crossed the Alps.”

“Sheldon, I am very, very sorry.” she said sincerely.

“No. No, I brought this on myself by being such an endearing and important part of your life. I’m going to need a ride to the mall.” Sheldon muttered to himself, making Penny's eyes roll at his illusion that he's endearing and important. There was only one important person living in this apartment, and it wasn't Sheldon.

She returned to her apartment and sat down on her couch, leaning her head back and sighing deeply. She suddenly had a feeling of déjá vu. The last time she had felt lost like this was when she had screamed at Leonard for not stopping her from swallowing after a drunken blowjob. And while this time they hadn't really had a fight so far, it still felt as if it was headed into the same direction. She was about to head into the shower when she heard her phone buzz, indicating an incoming message. Hoping it was from Leonard, she unlocked the screen to see that it came from an unknown number.

**I must have missed you before**

**Excuse me, who are you? s** he texted back.

**Oh sorry, it's Dave. I wanted to pick you up from work but your manager said that you had already left**

**Yes, a colleague offered me a ride home. I didn't see you** It was a blatant lie but he didn't need to know that.

**Too bad. The offer of a ride along the coast still stands ;)**

**By the way, how did you get my number? s** he asked, ignoring his offer.

**Took it from Leonard's phone**

**That's not nice, doing that without asking. I'm taking a shower now and go to bed. I'm beat**

That was all Penny could stand. She put her phone on mute and threw it on her coffee table before standing up and going to her bathroom. She couldn't believe that guy. First apparently not believing that she and Leonard were a couple and then taking her phone number without asking. She knew that Leonard wasn't someone who gave out phone numbers without asking the owner first if that was okay.

After a long shower, Penny put on her pajamas and her robe and returned to the living room to find her phone lit up with multiple messages and several missed calls. Without reading them, she deleted them all and made it that every call from an unknown number went straight to voice mail. Not feeling really tired, she decided to finish the evening with a few more episodes of Sex and the City before she headed to bed.

* * *

After a restless night that consisted more of tossing and turning than sleeping courtesy of the missing warm body of Leonard enveloping her, Penny got up tired and grumpy. She checked her watch to see that it was almost eleven. A quick shower and three cups of coffee later she felt more refreshed but still tired.

She grabbed her phone and checked her messages to find several from the unknown number she knew belonged to Dave and one from Mike, the day manager at the Cheesecake Factory, telling her that she had to start two hours earlier today, so instead of starting at three, she would have to be at work at one.

_'Great. He could at least have told me if I have to work until nine or not. At least I have tomorrow off and can celebrate Christmas with the guys.'_ she thought and was interrupted by a knock on her door.

“Hey there.” Dave greeted her much to her chagrin.

“Yes?” she asked, trying to be as neutral as possible.

“I wanted to take you to lunch. Granted, it's only the university cafeteria but still.”

“Oh, Leonard put you up to it?” she asked, hopeful that he didn't hold anything against her.

“Uh... yeah, sure.” Dave replied. “Come on, my bike is downstairs.”

“No, I'll drive myself. I have to be at work sooner than yesterday. You still need to drive in front of me, I don't know the way there.” she said and swore that she saw what looked like either disappointment or disbelief in his eyes.

She grabbed her keys and headed downstairs, him following her. After stepping outside, she took a deep breath of the fresh air and without turning around, headed towards her car. She got inside and started the car and waited for Dave to finish his ritual of closing and straightening out his jacket, putting the helmet on before swinging his leg over the bike. Finally, after a minute of waiting, he drove off, his driving style making it hard for her to follow.

* * *

After arriving, she got out of the car and walked to short distance to where Dave parked his motorcycle. She looked around and marveled at the sight, the huge campus, all those buildings of higher learning and the crazy amount of people walking around.

“Okay, where to?” she asked.

“Let me show you around first.” Dave said and offered her his hand which she looked at with squinting eyes.

_'If he thinks I'm going to hold hands, he's sadly mistaken.'_ she thought and kept her arms straight at her body.

“You said we're going to lunch.” she told him in an accusing tone.

“We are. But they won't serve for another ten minutes. So come on.”

“Fine.” she sighed and walked next to him, keeping her hands close to her.

She had to admit, it was impressive. He showed her around the campus and explained the different buildings, which ones were dorms or which ones students had their lectures in. He pointed out other buildings where the labs were situated but refrained from taking her to some of them, since a lot were off limits to unauthorized personnel. After fifteen minutes, they finally headed towards the cafeteria building, surrounded by a slew of students.

“Don't worry, the students eat in another hall, grad students and faculty eat separately.” he answered her unspoken question.

They arrived at a smaller room with two vending machines and a counter where people got their food and Penny sat down at one of the tables close to the vending machines. Just as she was about to ask again where he was, one of the double doors swung open and Leonard limped into the room.

“Hey, Leonard. Come, join us.” Dave said, still standing behind her.

“Oh, hey, Dave. And Penny, what a surprise.” Leonard replied, sitting down across from Penny.

“Hey, Leonard. Dave was just showing me around the university. You know, I never would have thought but this place is really unbelievable. I'm really starting to like the science stuff you do here.”

“I’ve been offering to show you around since we met and you always said you had something else to do. Now tell me, what are you doing here? With him, no less.”

“He asked me to come to lunch.” she replied to him, wondering why he asked when Dave had told him that it was his idea.

“And you said yes without hesitation. Great. Now I know how you felt when Stephanie was all over me. Enjoy your lunch!” Leonard almost yelled and got up again, leaving her dumbstruck at her table.

“What the hell? What is wrong with him?”

“Maybe he's angry that I managed in two days what he didn't manage since you two know each other. I mean, he did try to convince me that you two were an item, but come on.” Dave said, scoffing.

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked, getting angrier by the second.

“Well, you know. A guy like him doesn't get a girl like you. A girl like you belongs to a guy like me.”

“Oh, shut up!” she shouted, finally losing it and uncaring about the heads that turned into her direction. “You are a neanderthal, you know that? For your information, Leonard and I ARE an item, we have been for ten months now.”

“You're kidding, right? You and that dwarf? This is some elaborate scheme to make me want you even more, isn't it?”

“What the...? NO! God, now I know why he was so angry. I need to call him.” she said and took out her phone.

“You can't. If he's gone back to the lab he currently works in, you won't reach him. He currently works on a magnetic propulsion experiment and phones don't work in there.” Dave explained and Penny knew he was right when she heard Leonard's phone go directly to voice mail.

“Where is the lab?”

“I don't know.” Davis said and lifted both his arms in a surrender position when Penny directed a glare at him. “Really, I don't know. I know where Leonard's regular lab is and the one I work in, although I'm kind of scared to go there because of the giant whose pregnant girlfriend I met.”

“Met? You mean hit on?”

“What the...? How do you know?”

“I know both the woman and her gigantic boyfriend.” she started when his phone rang.

“Sorry, gotta go, it's my wife calling.” Dave stated and left the cafeteria, leaving Penny even more dumbstruck than before.

“WIFE?” she shouted into the room and again heads turned into her direction. Shaking her head, she left the place. She wouldn't be able to find Leonard fast enough to talk it out since she had only thirty minutes to get to work.

_'This is really turning into a clusterfuck.'_ she thought as she got into her car. If she didn't talk to Leonard soon, the entire situation could get so far out of control that it would make the whole Stephanie thing seem like a walk in the park.

* * *

“I'm here Mike.” Penny said after arriving at the Cheesecake Factory, having been home before that to change into her uniform.

“Good. Don't worry, you won't have to work as long as yesterday, you shift only goes until six.”

“Oh great, thanks. I really need the evening today to straighten some things out with my boyfriend.”

“No problem. Now get to work.” he ordered playfully.

“Yes Sir!” Penny grinned back and gave a salute.

Two hours later, she was enjoying her break, sitting in a chair in the lounge with her feet up another chair. However, her quiet time was interrupted by the arrival of her very nosy friend.

“Uh, someone has relationship troubles.” Cheryl said.

“What makes you say that?” Penny asked her.

“You have that melancholic look on your face as if your world is breaking apart.” Cheryl replied and pushed Penny's feet off the chair so she could sit down opposite of her. “Okay, spill.”

“There's nothing to say.” Penny said and received a glare. “Okay, remember that guy who brought me here yesterday?”

“Yes, go on.”

“Apparently, he really was after me, even after Leonard told him that we're together. Not only that, today he invited me to lunch in the university cafeteria. I thought Leonard put him up to that, Dave even said as much and so I went happily along.” Penny told her and anything more was interrupted by a male voice.

“Cheryl, your shift has begun...” Mike, the day manager started.

“GET OUT!” Cheryl shouted and her eyes brokered no argument. It seemed to be working when Mike hurried out of the room. “Sorry, continue.”

“Well, we got to the cafeteria, Leonard joined us and wondered why I was there when I never before agreed to visit him there. I explained that Dave invited me and Leonard yelled at me before leaving for his lab.” Penny finished, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

“Well, I can certainly understand Leonard's reaction.” Cheryl said.

“Hey, you're supposed to support me.”

“I am. I'm telling you what you did wrong. Has it never occurred to you, that this guy wanted more than just lunch when he showed up at nine in the evening without asking to pick you up?”

“I kinda blocked that out, since I never had any inkling of letting something happen. Oh and get this. After Leonard left, he said some very derogatory things about Leonard. I was just about to yell at him when his wife called and he had to leave.”

“Well, that sucks when... wait a second, his WIFE called? Wife, as in woman who is married to him? WIFE as in Wonderful Item Of Enjoyment?”

“Yeah, person you wear matching rings with.” Penny added, laughing at Cheryl's interpretation of the word wife.

“Seriously, that's messed up. What an asshole, willing to commit adultery just like that.”

“Yep. But how do I fix this? I was so irritated with Leonard when this Doctor Stephanie was all over him and now I have done an even worse thing by leaving with him without even the slightest hesitation.”

“Easy. Talk to him. And if that doesn't work, get wasted before. You always tell the truth easier when you're hammered.”

“I do not!”

“Oh yes you do. You declared your love for him when you were wasted, you declared your willingness to have children with him when you were wasted and you showed us how amazing your sex life is when you were wasted.”

“Strangely enough that only happened when I was around you guys.”

“Don't blame this on us.”

“Ugh, shut up.”

“And as Kim said, there comes the two words that you always say when running out of arguments.” Cheryl grinned and stood up. “Now come on, we have work to do.”

“Work? It's the day before Christmas, not many people eat out.” Penny said.

“No matter, lets at least act as if we're working.”

Penny let herself be dragged to her feet and left the lounge behind Cheryl. The woman was right, Penny did tell truths easier when she had alcohol inside her, as sad as that sounded. When she came out she saw two familiar looking faces sitting at one of her tables. She quickly grabbed two menus and hurried to it.

“Hey you two.” she greeted them. “I have never seen you here before. Frank, you okay there?”

“Oh hey, Penny. Yes, it's just... I have a hard time sitting at regular tables.” Frank said and Penny swore that she saw the table vibrate as he talked.

“At home, we have ours elevated so his legs fit under it. I have to sit in an equally elevated chair but at least he's comfortable. That's why we rarely eat out.” Alice added.

“So, do you need menus or do you know what you want?” she asked her new customers.

“I'll take two barbecue burgers, extra large, bacon on the side with three orders of fries and a diet coke.” Frank ordered and Penny stared at him open mouthed. “What? I like the taste better then regular coke.”

“I'll take a chicken salad with a bowl of jam plus some fish sticks with onion dip. And a ginger ale.” Alice ordered and as Penny wrote it down, she couldn't stop her face from frowning at the strange order. “Don't judge me, I'm pregnant. I get strange cravings.”

“No judgment here.” Penny smiled and wrote the rest of it down.

“Yeah yeah. You'll see when you have some little guy inside you ordering a sausage with chocolate coating.” Alice grinned and patted her stomach, the bulge clearly visible under her shirt.

“I don't see myself eating something like that ever, even when I'm pregnant.” Penny stated firmly. “I'm going to get your drinks now.”

“Don't think I didn't hear you say when instead of if.” Alice called behind her. Penny could only grin. Even if she only met her three times now, Alice was a wonderful woman.

“Here you go. Your food is almost ready.” Penny said after returning to the table with their drinks on her tray.

“Thanks. By the way, I was talking to Leonard this afternoon and he seemed really mad. Do you know what's wrong?” Frank asked her.

“It's my fault. This Dave Underhill guy offered me to take me to work yesterday and I since I was running late, I accepted without hesitation. And today, Dave asked me to come to lunch in the cafeteria and he lied to me about clearing it with Leonard. So when we were in the cafeteria and Leonard entered, he saw me and Dave there and in his eyes I accepted a lunch invitation from another man who ignored Leonard's statement that I'm his girlfriend.”

“I knew that guy was a sleazebag. I should have let Frank pummel him to the ground.” Alice said with clenched teeth.

“No need to disable the douchebag. By the way, Dave is married.”

“Say what?” Alice squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

“Yeah. After Leonard stormed off, I told Dave to go screw himself and then when his wife called. What was riling the most was his off-hand manner, as if attempting to cheat on his wife was the most natural thing to do.”

“That guy is an asshole.” Alice said.

“I can still pummel him. Even make it look like an accident. His lab equipment could malfunction and cut off his manhood.” Frank suggested to the laughter of the two women.

“It's okay, no need for neutering. You food is ready, I'll go get it.”

Penny brought their orders to them and since no one else currently needed her services, she accepted their offer to sit down to talk a bit. Her manager didn't like it but since she wasn't bothering them, he let it go. Getting a few pointers about how to make things right with Leonard again, which unsurprisingly consisted mostly of her being naked while she did it, she left work in a better mood then she thought possible.

* * *

After a stop at the grocery store to get some eggnog for tomorrow, she headed home and took a quick shower. She dressed in some plain gray sweatpants and a blue shirt that had seen better days, considering its dropping right neckline and threw a hoodie over it.

She sat down on her couch and on a whim, stood up again and got one of the eggnog cartons from the fridge. She opened it and took a long swig, foregoing getting a glass in favor of speed. She sat back and between more swigs, thought about what to say to Leonard.

_'What can I say? Sorry I ignored you because a cute guy with a motorcycle offered me a ride? Well, he did lie to me about the lunch thing.'_

During her contemplations, she finished the entire carton of eggnog and not even feeling slightly buzzed, grabbed a bottle of rum to rinse it out. She dumped a bit of rum in the carton and shook it, drinking the rest of the eggnog from it and repeating the process two times. Not bothering with more, she just emptied the entire bottle of rum into the carton. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, letting the alcohol in her system calm her nerves until she had the courage to face Leonard.

_“And here I thought there was more between us than simple satisfaction of lust.” Leonard told her, his face set in a stony yet disappointed expression and his arms crossed before his chest._

_“It is, why won't you think any different?” she asked him, confused about his accusation._

_Instead of answering, he pointed towards her open bedroom door. She turned her head and saw the naked form of Dave Underhill lying in her bed, a smug grin on his face. When did he get here? And when did he get naked? She looked down at her body and saw the same lack of clothing on her. Realizing what must have happened, she couldn't stop tears from flowing._

_“Leonard, I swear, nothing has happened. He might have tried something but I never wanted to sleep with him.” she said sincerely, since she had no idea how Dave got here, how she got naked and what happened and how Leonard suddenly stood in her apartment._

_“That would be more believable if you two hadn't been in the middle of sex when I walked in.”_

_“We were? But... No, Leonard, believe me, I have no idea what's going on here.” she pleaded._

_“I do. You don't care about me at all. All my feelings were just a plaything for you. And here I thought, there really was something more between us.”_

_“It is. It really is. I love you.”_

_“Maybe you do. But you also love shoes. And your parents. And your friends. There is a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone. And I can't be with you if only the first thing happens to be the case. Especially since it doesn't stop you from stomping on my heart by sleeping with others.” Leonard said and turned around. When he closed her apartment door, it had a finality to it that made Penny's legs buckle and her body hit the floor._

Her eyes flew open and she put her hand over her mouth to muffle the outcry she felt was coming. Her heart was beating fast and hard against her ribs and her entire body shook.

_'It had only been a dream. Scratch that, a nightmare.'_ she thought and took another long swig of rum when Leonard suddenly burst into the apartment without knocking.

“Okay, I have just one question for you. While I now realize what it must have looked like when Stephanie was after me, at least I had the decency not to accept her invitations directly. And yet you didn't even hesitate when a guy who is as smart as I am plus tall and good looking asks you to go with him.” he said with a loud voice.

“Why are you yelling at me?” Penny asked, unable to prevent a few tears from falling, her nightmare still fresh in her mind.

“What the hell? I wasn't that harsh, why are you crying now?”

“Dave is not as smart as you. He’s an idiot.”

“Really? Why would you say that?”

“Because a smart guy doesn't ask any woman out, even if she's visibly pregnant and her fiance is in the same room. And especially not a woman who he was told is taken and even more so not when he himself is married.”

“Um... what? Who's pregnant?”

“That’s all you took from that? The guy is married!”

“Oh, yeah. Wait, really? But still, who is pregnant?”

“Alice. Remember Frank's fiance? She was visiting him in the lab and Dave worked in there as well.”

“I know, I helped set his experiment up.”

“Anyway, he started to hit on Alice, who was standing there with both her baby bump and engagement ring visible. She had to keep Frank from destroying him.”

“That would have been quite the sight.” Leonard grinned.

“Eggnog?” she offered him the carton.

“Lactose.” he replied.

“It’s just rum. It stopped being eggnog like half an hour ago.” she explained and he took the carton and a quick swig from it.

“Smooth.” he said in a raspy voice when the liquor burned down his throat.

“I'm sorry about what happened.”

“It's okay. I just couldn't stomach the fact that you might drop everything between us because someone taller than me asked you out.”

“Not happening. Merry Christmas.” she said and gave him a loving kiss on the cheek before climbing into his lap, ready to kiss him again, for real this time.

“For the love of god, get off me!” Leonard shouted and roughly shoved her off his lap, holding his leg.

“Gee, now I feel sexy.”

“No, it's not you. But my leg is killing me.”

“Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot.”

“Won't be a problem tomorrow. The ointment should work until then.”

“What ointment?”

“It's to accelerate the healing of a bruise. But it spreads the coloring of the skin further than just the bruised area.”

“Are we okay?” she asked him.

“We're okay.” he replied and kissed her, which she gladly reciprocated.

“Will you stay here?”

“No, the guys are waiting. We have our day-before-Christmas game night. And knowing Sheldon, he won't stop bugging us if I don't go.”

“Okay. I see you tomorrow before lunch. I'll bring your gifts with me then.”

“Great. I have got something for you two that you will like.”

“Uh, I can't wait.”

“Okay, I need to leave now. I can feel Sheldon's eyes in our direction.” Leonard said and stood up, favoring his left leg.

“If he's really looking in our direction, that would be really creepy if you feel that.” she replied and stood up as well, walking with him to the door. “Bye sweetie.” she said and gave him a long kiss and moaned when his hands traveled south to her behind.

“See you tomorrow.” he sighed and turned around, entering his apartment.

She returned to the couch in a far happier mood than before. She turned on her TV to watch some more TV when her phone buzzed with an incoming message. She hoped it wasn't Dave again.

**Hey girl, did you have your talk with Leonard? Everything okay or am I officially allowed to seduce him? :D**

**Yes, we talked. And everything is fine**

**That's great! Well, great for you. Bad for my libido**

**I'm so not sorry :-P**

**I know. Did you already have your make-up sex? :)**

**You're way too interested in my sex life. But no, his leg is still bugging him where the motorcycle fell on it**

**Oh my god, what happened?**

**He tried Dave's motorcycle and it fell on him. Long story for another time**

**Okay. See you after the holidays. Merry Christmas**

**Merry Christmas**

Penny put down the phone and sank back into her couch. Merry Christmas indeed. She had originally intended to tell Leonard her feelings but if she did it now, the effect would be cheapened because he might see it as overcompensation thanks to the Dave incident. Instead she took some paper, a pen and a pair of scissors and set to work on doing the next best thing.

This night, Penny slept way better than she usual did when Leonard wasn't with her.

* * *

The next morning, Penny got up at her usual time, which meant after ten and after her bathroom ritual, she ate a bear claw and had her standard two cups of coffee before getting dressed in a pair of jeans, a green top that showed off her curves and a small red jacket over it. To top off her appearance, she donned a Santa hat before she grabbed the presents she had gotten for the guys. She headed outside and crossed the hall and instead of walking in like she usually did, she knocked on their door to have it opened by the smiling face of her sweetie.

“Merry Christmas.” she greeted him with a big smile of her own.

“Merry Christmas.”

“How’s your leg?” she asked, not forgetting it this time.

“Much better, the ointment worked, although I look like someone had beaten my entire right side with a wooden stick all night. Come on in.”

“Ah, good, Penny, you’re here to exchange gifts.” Sheldon said when he came into the living room. “You’ll be pleased to know I’m prepared for whatever you have to offer.”

“Okay, here.” she grinned and gave him his gift.

“I should note I’m having some digestive distress, so, if I excuse myself abruptly, don’t be alarmed.” he stated to her confusion before he opened the package and found its contents. “Oh, a napkin.” he said and she could hear the confusion in his voice.

“Turn it over.” she smiled, almost giddily, having put it into the package with the autograph down. Sheldon did as he was told and Penny felt great when he almost collapsed in shock, having to hold on to the armchair.

“To Sheldon, live long and prosper. Leonard Nimoy.”

“Yeah, he came into the restaurant. Sorry the napkin’s dirty. He wiped his mouth with it.” she explained the smudged parts but was unprepared for his reaction when he stood up straight, dropping the box and holding the napkin in both hands like a religious artifact.

“I possess the DNA of Leonard Nimoy?!” he shouted, and Penny couldn't decide if that was a question or a statement.

“Well yeah, I guess. But look, he signed it.”

“Do you realize what this means?” he continued, not even listening to her. “All I need is a healthy ovum and I can grow my own Leonard Nimoy!”

“Okay, all I’m giving you is the napkin, Sheldon.” she said, to prevent him from asking her to be the brood mother to his little Nimoy.

“Be right back.” he said suddenly and ran off to his room. Penny turned to Leonard and sat down next to him, handing him an envelope.

“Here. Open it.”

“Oh, a gift certificate for motorcycle lessons. Very thoughtful.” Leonard said after taking the coupon out.

“Yeah, and I checked. Not letting the bike fall on you while standing still is lesson one.” she added, glad that he didn't think the gift was insensitive after what had transpired.

“Oh, then maybe I can take you out for a spin when I mastered the art of taming a Harley.” he grinned.

“Sweetie, if you take me anywhere on a real Harley, I will have so much sex with you on it.”

“That's something to look forward to. But here, I think you’ll appreciate what I got you.” he said and handed her a rather large gift-wrapped box.

“A hundred and one Totally Cool Science Experiments for Kids.” she read and looked at him with pursed lips to his laughter.

“You know, cause you’re so into science now.” he said and his demeanor made her laugh. Just then, Sheldon returned from his room, laden with six gift baskets of different sizes and colors. He barely made it down the step and deposited all the baskets on the armchair.

“Sheldon! What did you do?” she shouted at him but without any negativity in her voice.

“I know! It’s not enough, is it?” he replied, hands on his face and looked at her. “Here.” he continued and after several seconds of very awkward arm movements, he closed them around her back and hugged her.

“Leonard, look! Sheldon’s hugging me.” she said with a quiet voice, worried that anything louder would scare Sheldon off.

“It’s a Saturnalia miracle.” Leonard said grinning and lifted his coffee cup in salute.

After several seconds, Sheldon ended the hug and ran back into his room. Penny returned to the couch and sat down next to Leonard, putting an arm around as he placed his now empty cup on the coffee table.

“You know, I have something else for you that I didn't want to give you with Sheldon present.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. So, you want to come over?”

“Sure. Sheldon won't come out of his room for a while anyway. No need to just sit around.”

They grabbed the baskets left the apartment and returned to hers. After depositing the baskets on her floor, she took his hand into hers, led him to the couch and mentioned for him to sit. Before she could sit down as well, he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Just to show you that it doesn't hurt anymore when you sit on my leg.” he said grinning.

“That's good to know.” she replied and gave him a quick kiss before standing up again. “But I wanted to give you this first.” she continued and handed him her handiwork from the evening before.

Leonard took the object which turned out to be a folded piece of paper cut in the form of a heart. It was painted a pleasant red and when he opened it and looked inside, he could see the word Penny written there in a very beautiful and flowing script.

“That's beautiful. But I don't quite understand...” Leonard said.

“After what happened to us during last week and the last two days with the whole Stephanie and then Dave thing, I thought I do this to show you what you mean to me.” Penny explained.

“Okay...” Leonard said slowly and she could see that he would need a bigger prompt.

“It's my heart.” she smiled warmly. “This is to show you that my heart belongs to you and no other man will take it.” she finished and looked as Leonard stared at it with an open mouth, overwhelmed by emotion at her gift.

“It's beautiful. Makes my physics box seem so bad in comparison.”

“Don't worry. You have given me so many things over the months we were together, this is the least I can do.”

Leonard put the heart down and cupped her face in his hands, pulling her in for a soft and longing kiss. They kept his up for several minutes until Penny opened her mouth more and therefore giving him permission to plunge his tongue into her mouth where it tangled with hers in a passion-fueled duel.

Her arms closed around his neck and she pulled herself into his lap, their lips never separating. As she usually did when kissing him in that position, she started grinding on him, feeling him get hard even through her jeans. When their noses were finally unable to supply them with enough oxygen, they broke apart, their foreheads still touching and their breaths mingling.

“I can think of one experiment that is not part of the box you gave me?” Penny said in a low voice.

“Oh? And why wouldn't it be in there?”

“Because it's definitely not for kids.”

“Now I'm intrigued.”

“Well, I thought we try to figure out how two bodies react that try to be in the same space at the same time and how much energy is used in determining that. And while we're at it, how much force the metal springs in my bed can take before they fail.”

“You're even hotter when you talk science.” he panted and kissed her again, his hands busy getting her out of her jacket while hers did the same with his hoodie.

“Oh, then why don't we find out how much self-lubrication is needed to achieve maximum penetration with the least amount of force.” she suggested and opened both their pants.

“If you don't stop talking like this, I'm gonna finish before we even start.” Leonard panted and pushed her off his lap to stand up, letting his pants fall while Penny pushed hers down to reveal her violet panties. “You are wearing the violet ones again?”

“Yeah. You said last time they looked sexy.”

“You could wear burlap bag for underwear and still look sexy.”

“Leonard? You already got me out of my pants, no need for such sweet talk.” she grinned and kissed him hard, her hands fingering the hem of his shirt before pulling it off him in one swift move.

“It's only the truth.” he said and pulled her own shirt off her, revealing the matching violet bra. “So sexy.”

“Leonard? Take me to bed or lose me forever.”

“Your wish is my command.”

Leonard pushed her into the bedroom and onto her back on the bed, their lips in constant contact. Penny lifted her left leg and Leonard used this opportunity to run his hands over her soft skin, from foot to thigh, over her hips and along her ribcage until it reached her face.

His lips went the opposite direction, from her lips down the side of her neck, lingering at her pulse point where he sucked and nipped the skin until she moaned loudly. Penny inwardly cursed him for being so good with his lips and for finding all those spots on her body that made her react like that but as soon as his lips continued their journey south, through the valley between her breasts and her naval to the hem of her panties, she decided on the spot to forgive him.

His let his mouth run over her pantie covered center, using his chin to apply soft force to it which made her breath hitch and body shudder. His lips connected with her skin at the junction of her center and left inner thigh where he continued to let his tongue play right next to the spot were she wanted him to be.

She felt the moisture building in her panties and tried to force him by moving her hips but he simply moved with her, infuriating her even more. Her breath came out in short gasps, the need she felt for him already making her so hot she was about to explode.

“Leonard.” she wanted to yell but it only came out as an almost feral growl and as she looked down at him, she met his eyes, the amusement visible in them as he continued his journey south along her left thigh to her knee and then her calf until he reached her ankle.

He made his way back up on her right leg, his lips running over her skin of the calf, then her knee and back to her inner thigh, his lips once more stopping at the junction of the right leg and her center where he let his tongue run along her skin.

“Leonard, please!” she pleaded and bucked her hips into his face, momentarily surprising him. He let out a small laugh which made her almost yell at him but she stopped herself when she felt his fingers at the waistband of her panties, pulling them down agonizingly slowly until they were finally off her.

He placed himself between her legs and Penny panted in anticipation, the feeling of his breath against her moist center almost akin to torture. She once again tried to buck up her hips to achieve connection but his right arm came over her waist and held her down. He placed a feathery kiss directly above her clit which made her whimper.

She was about to yell at him again when his tongue finally touched her at the lower end of her slit. He slowly moved it up, applying ever more pressure with ever millimeter he moved and when he finally reached her clit and pressed his tongue down hard on it, she couldn't hold it in anymore and climaxed with a scream.

“What the hell Leonard?” she panted after coming down from her high. “How did you do that? You barely touched me!”

“Well, you are fairly lubricated already. Want me to try for more?” he asked instead of answering her question.

“Please don't stop.” she pleaded.

His only answer was a knowing grin and when her breathing was back to normal, he resumed his actions by pressing his tongue back down. As he ran it along her labia, she marveled at his skill. He had made her come simply by building the anticipation to such a high level that the slightest touch had set her off.

His movements became more aggressive and Penny started to moan constantly, as his tongue did magic between her legs. It seemed to be everywhere at once, circling around her clit while running up and down her labia, igniting fires inside her. But then his hands went below her butt and lifted it after which he pushed his tongue deep into her, moving it around rapidly and lapping her juices.

She grabbed the back of his head to hold him down as she climaxed violently for the second time. Her scream of pleasure echoed through the bedroom as she rode the orgasmic waves that were breaking against her brain and Leonard simply continued his forceful ministrations until she had come down again.

“You taste amazing.” he said and kissed her on the mouth, which made her taste herself on his lips and tongue.

She turned them around and sat up, grabbing behind her to unhook her bra, letting it fall to the floor. Leonard eyes went wide at the sight of her hard nipples, begging to be suckled and bitten. He sat up and took her left on into his mouth while his right hand grabbed her left breast and started to knead it gently.

She pushed his head harder into her chest and enjoyed his worship of her body. So far the day hat not disappointed and Penny lifted herself slightly to get him inside her. Leonard had other ideas and turned them around, flipping her on her back and placing himself between her legs. She hooked them behind his waist as he guided himself to her opening and slowly pushed in to the hilt.

Both moaned loudly at the contact and Leonard stayed still for a moment to savor the feeling before he started to gently move in and out. Their lips connected again and their tongues played their game as he moved in a slow but constant speed. He kept this up for several minutes until he couldn't help himself from speeding up. It still wasn't fast enough to rock the bed into the wall but their lovemaking was audible by the squeaking of the bedsprings.

As his faster movements brought her closer to another climax, she heard his phone buzz with an received message, making her wonder how she was able to hear that sound when everything else was drowned out by the sexual connection. His movements became even more forceful, his hips rocking into hers, making her squeal with every thrust. When his lips closed around her pulse points and started sucking it again, she climaxed loudly for the third time this night.

Leonard paused in his movements to let her ride it out, the occasional twitch of her body making him smile when he realized that this was his doing. All of it, her flushed face, her swollen lips and her satisfied grin that she tried to fight but was unable to stop.

“Turn us around. I want to ride you.” she said and pushed her left leg against his hips.

He did as she asked and pulled her on top of him without ever pulling out. She sat up and sunk down even further, which led to another moan as his tip scraped over her g-spot. She put her hands on his chest and prepared to ride him but he put his own hands on her wrists to stop her.

“No. I want you to bounce up and down. I want to see your breasts moving.” he ordered and with a grin, Penny placed her feet to the left and right of his hips and started doing as he asked, rising just far enough up so his tip is barely in her anymore before pushing down hard again. She set a fast pace, her breasts swinging with her movements.

Leonard groaned at the sight, his hands on her breasts in seconds, touching, squeezing and caressing. Penny leaned backwards, placing her hands on his thighs and taking her breasts out of his reach, an action he rewarded with an unnerved groan. She ignored his groan when she felt his manhood ramming against her g-spot in this angle and she increased her speed even more, the movement making her coils tighten again.

“Oh god Penny, I'm...” Leonard managed to get out, his breath coming out ragged and gasping.

“Come for me baby.” she panted. “I'll be there with you.”

She knew that she would. If there is one thing the last few months have taught her, it's how amazingly their bodies have synchronized when it came to sex and especially orgasms. No matter how many orgasms she already had, when he climaxed he almost always took her with him one last time. She could count the times that this hadn't happened on one hand.

She increased the force of her movements once more, her hips slamming down forcefully as his hips thrust upwards to meet her. To bring her even faster to climax, Leonard placed his hand on her center and started to rub her clit along her bounces. She shouted loudly at his ministrations and with a loud scream, she climaxed, her clenching walls taking him with her and he spilled into her with a loud groan.

Penny collapsed forward onto Leonard's chest, her entire body trembling from the aftershocks of her orgasm and out of breath from the exertion. She was pleased to notice that Leonard didn't have to grab his inhaler despite his own breath being as ragged as hers.

She wanted nothing but stay like this but she knew that she needed to get up if she didn't want to change her sheets again. She remembered last month, when she had to do laundry which had only consisted of sheets and meeting the poor woman living below her while down in the laundry room. Her neighbor hadn't said anything but the look and raised eyebrow had been enough.

After kissing for several minutes, she lifted herself from Leonard, whimpering at the loss of contact and quickly held a hand between her legs to catch anything that might escape. She hurried into the bathroom to clean herself up while Leonard grabbed some of the paper towels and wet wipes she kept handy in her nightstand.

She returned to the bedroom and saw Leonard lying on the bed, his entire right side a yellow colored mess. She remembered him telling her that it was the side effect of the ointment he used but it still looked as if he had been beaten up. She got into bed and placed herself next to him, snuggling into his body with her head on his chest, listening to his soothing heartbeat. She sighed happily and used her right hand to draw small shapes on the skin of his stomach.

“What do you want to do now?” she asked but any answer he might have given was made futile when his stomach gave a loud rumble, much to her amusement. “Okay, lunch it is.”

They got up and dressed again, not wanting to risk Sheldon coming over to get Leonard for lunch and having him find them naked. Penny went into the kitchen and looked through the cupboards for something to make while Leonard went to the couch.

“By the way, who messaged you before?” she asked him, remembering the buzzing of his phone.

“I don't know, let me check.” he replied and took his phone from his pants pocket. “It's from Howard.”

“What does it say?”

“Um... Hey Leonard, I don't know where you are right now, but if you were on the steps to the fifth floor, you could hear Penny shacking up with Dave.” Leonard read aloud.

“What? Howard thought I'd sleep with Dave?”

“Apparently.”

“Jeez, what a creep, listening on the wall. Makes me wonder how many times he has done that.”

“Do you really want to know?” he asked her.

“No, not really. Okay, I don't really have any food that's fitting for Christmas, wanna order some take-out?”

“Take-out is more Christmas-y than cooking?”

“No, but you're audibly hungry, and I am too.”

“Lets go to my place, me and Sheldon usually have pasta on Christmas.” he suggested.

“Do we have to go over there? I don't want Sheldon talking about cloning his own Leonard Nimoy and I want to be alone with you.”

“Don't worry.” Leonard said and gave her a kiss. “Since I was a good boy all year and had to put up with Sheldon, Santa gave me his most beautiful elf to play with. And I plan on unpacking my present a lot more times today. Again and again until it's not Christmas anymore.”

“And if you do a good job, your elf might even do something for you she has only reserved for special occasions.” Penny grinned and pushed her tongue against the inside of her mouth, making Leonard's breath hitch when he understood her meaning.

“Then let us fetch some supper, my lady, for my loins ache for the heavenly embrace of your insides.”

Penny laughed at his attempt to sound chivalrous and together they left her apartment to have some Christmas lunch with his whacky roommate. But dessert would still be served in her own bed.

* * *

**And on that note, the chapter ends here. I hope you're not too disappointed about the missing I love you. But stay tuned, while it didn't happen here, it WILL happen during season 2 ^^**

**Remember, the more reviews, the faster I write. Reviews are a writers lifeblood (well, at least amateur writers who post here :D )**

**Review please :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**Since in the last episode they touched Christmas, I always wondered why they never mentioned the subsequent New Year's Eve. So I decided to incorporate it into this chapter. Hope you're not mad or too confused about it ^^**

**Enjoy :)**

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going. **

**Disclaimer 2: A big thank you to TerribleWaitress for letting me use her character Meryl as Penny's mother. You're the greatest :)**

* * *

She knew it was a bad idea when she agreed to another girls night. At least she wouldn't be alone with those two very nosy girls who were way too interested in her sex life. The way the evening had started had been fun and as long as the other guests were there, all was well. They talked for hours, gossiping while drinking a lot, and played silly games. At least until everyone had left Cheryl's apartment besides Penny and Kim.

“So Penny, tell us, any news on the Leonard front?” Cheryl asked almost as soon after everyone else had left. Kim only leaned forward, also very interested in what she had to say.

“Why do you ask?” Penny sighed.

“Well, the whole Dave Underhill thing got our hopes up again of getting him into our respective beds.” Cheryl grinned. “Or at least mine. I have no problem sharing him with Kim.”

“So not happening. We talked it out, we made up and we made out. Then we exchanged Christmas gifts and had the most amazing Christmas sex I've ever had.” Penny said resolutely.

“Really?” Kim asked sheepishly. “How many orgasms this time?”

“Lets see.” Penny replied, acting as if deep in thought. “Four during the first time, another three during the second, six more during the third and another three during the last. That's counting climaxes during foreplay.”

“Sixteen orgasms in one day?” Cheryl huffed and put her arms over her face. “This is getting ridiculous. Penny, we need that too.”

“Then get your boyfriends to do it.” Penny said and poked out her tongue. “Leonard is mine and mine alone. And that includes all the orgasms he gives me.”

“Our boyfriends can't cut it unfortunately.” Kim sighed.

“Girls, you don't have boyfriends, you have bed buddies. Boyfriends are people you have for more than a few weeks.” Penny clarified.

“It's their fault if they are unable to satisfy us.” Cheryl piped in. “If they are bad, they need to go.”

“You know what your problem might be? The fact that you constantly sleep around. That lets you be seen as sluts in the eyes of guys and what man wants a woman who he needs to be worried about cheating on him as soon as he turns his back.” Penny said.

“That's unfair, we're not that bad.” Kim replied.

“Really? Tell me, how long were your longest relationships during the last twelve months?” Penny asked both girls.

“Um, eight weeks.” Kim said quietly.

“Six for me.” Cheryl added.

“Okay, and how many different men did you sleep with in that year?” Penny asked again, and the long silence she received either meant that they were ashamed at the number or still counting in their heads. She couldn't decide which was worse.

“Eighteen.” Kim whispered.

“Twenty-two.” Cheryl sighed.

“See? What do you think a guy sees when he hears about that?”

“Then what do you suggest?” Kim asked.

“Remain single for a while and during that time, no sex. Buy yourself some battery operated devices to help you if you can't endure a long dry spell.”

“Girl, that's the craziest idea I've ever heard.” Cheryl laughed. “But hey, maybe I'll try that but I know that I probably can't stand it long enough to be effective.”

“Well, then you just need to keep looking and trying until you find your Mister Right.” Penny said and leaned back into the seat.

“I still think a night with Leonard would bring us a long way.” Cheryl grinned, much to Penny's chagrin.

“By the way, how big is he?” Kim asked.

“Excuse me?” Penny inquired, almost spitting out her drink.

“How big is he? Length, girth, you know? An exact number would be nice.” Kim added.

“Are you crazy? Why would I tell you that?”

“Because it's driving us crazy.” Cheryl replied.

“Girls, why do you want to know the exact length of Leonard's penis? I just don't get it.” Penny asked, resisting the urge to bang her head on the table.

“Because we were unable to measure it from the recording alone. All we have is a rough estimate and since you always brag about the great sex and we know that he is able to make you climax several times, we just want to know.”

“I still don't get what you need this information for.” Penny sighed loudly, cursing the day she got drunk again during that specific girls night and giving them the first recording.

“Well, since you are unwilling to let us test him, we need a number so we can look for that in the men we choose.”

“I wouldn't give you the information even if I knew it.” Penny declared.

“What do you mean, you don't know it? How can you not know it?” Kim asked surprised.

“Because I have no reason to measure it. I know that he is able to fill me and to make me climax often. I don't need an exact number. You can't measure the way a man can pleasure you by the inch. I know that Leonard is not the most well-endowed man I ever had sex with but if he is one thing, than he's a man who knows how to use his equipment to the best of his abilities.”

“Still, I think at some point during my relationships, I have always taken a ruler to a guy's equipment.” Cheryl mused and Kim agreed.

“Maybe that's your problem?” Penny said.

“What do you mean?”

“If you go into a relationship with the assumption that a guy can only bring you pleasure when his cock is a certain minimum length and width, you create a psychological blockade, like saying “this guy is smaller than usual, he won't be able to pleasure me”. Here's an idea. If you're with a guy for the first time, turn the lights off first and undress in the dark before having sex. You might be surprised what could happen if you go into it without prejudice.” Penny finished.

“Wow, that's actually quite the advice. And hell of insightful too.” Kim said. “Did you take a psychology course somewhere?”

“No, it just something I thought about sometimes since meeting Leonard.”

“Come on, give us at least an estimate.” Cheryl grinned.

“Well, he easily reaches my throat and I have to relax it to prevent gagging. Happy now?” Penny replied and poked out her tongue.

“To have you admit to deepthroating? Of course we're happy.” Kim laughed.

“Damn you two.” Penny blushed but nonetheless grinned when she thought about what she had just told them.

Five bottles of wine and one bottle of Tequila later, Penny was laughing loudly with the other two. A small part of her knew that being that drunk again was a bad idea, knowing what usually happened when that had happened. But right now she didn't care, feeling flushed and content.

“Then what happened?” Cheryl asked, her alcohol level audible in her voice.

“I thought to myself, he always nips and bites at my nipples or between my legs, why not return the favor? So I took him into my mouth and used my teeth as well.” Penny slurred. “But I must have misjudged myself because I bit down too hard. I've blown him a lot but that was the first time I heard him scream in pain. Ironically enough, that was the moment I knew something was wrong.”

“You didn't think biting down hard would be wrong?” Kim asked between bouts of raucous laughter.

“I didn't realize I was biting down hard. But I made it up to him, I rode him hard for almost half an hour and he forgot he was in pain.” Penny said giggling.

“I bet he did.” Cheryl grinned. “Penny, any plans for New Years Eve in two days?”

“Nothing concrete yet. Probably spending it with Leonard and the guys.”

“I bet you want to spend it riding your Leonard and make him see you a different sort of fireworks when the clock strikes midnight.” Kim grinned.

“Great idea.” Penny agreed. “But since timing your climax would be hard work and totally not nice and his friends want to do something else, it's more likely we will do that later. Hey look, Kim has fallen asleep.” Penny continued, pointing at her sleeping friend.

“Might as well turn in. You okay with sleeping next to me in my bed?” Cheryl asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you can't sleep in the armchair and Kim has crashed on the couch.”

“I should go home.”

“Penny, you drove here and you're wasted. Also, it's getting light out, the night is almost over.”

“Holy crap, I didn't realize it's that late. Yeah okay, I sleep next to you.”

They pushed and pulled Kim's sleeping body into a better sleeping position and put a blanket over her before stumbling into Cheryl's bedroom. While Cheryl got ready for bed, Penny brushed her teeth, thanking the stars that she always packed a spare toothbrush into her purse when heading to a girls night.

They switched places and Penny walked around the bedroom, wondering what to do. She didn't have any pajamas or oversized shirts to wear and sleeping in her jeans was something she didn't really want to do.

“For the love of god Penny, take off your pants. It's not like I haven't seen you in your underwear. I watched you change before.” Cheryl's exasperated voice interrupted her thoughts and she shoved a giant shirt into Penny's hands.

“You're right.” Penny sighed and took off her jeans and shirt before changing into the one Cheryl gave her. Luckily, she didn't wear a thong today, something she was thinking about when she got dressed in the morning, if only to make Leonard hot while he watched her getting dressed.

After getting ready, she slipped into Cheryl's bed and closed her eyes, feeling her friend lying down as well and switching the light off. Fighting the urge to roll over and put her arms around the body next to her, she soon drifted off into an alcohol induced sleep.

* * *

“Usually I'd ask at least for dinner first before I let someone do that.” Penny heard a familiar saying and pulling her from sleep.

“What?” Penny mumbled and managed to open her eyes to find the back of Cheryl's head in her face.

“But I must say, you do that really good. Makes me wonder if you just copy what Leonard does or if you have learned another way.” Cheryl's voice continued.

“Huh?” Penny asked and tried to get her bearings. She noticed that she was spooning Cheryl and her right hand was currently under her friend's nightshirt, cupping and kneading her right breast, her finger gently rubbing over the nipple.

“Dear Lord, keep going.” Cheryl moaned and Penny quickly pulled her hand away.

“Sorry, sorry.” she stammered and turned on her back. “Oh god, my head feels like someone used a jackhammer on it.”

“Mine doesn't feel much better.” Cheryl agreed. “Especially since there is no positive sensation anymore.” she continued and Penny groaned.

“Please, stop mentioning that I fondled you.”

They lay there for a few minutes until they heard a loud pain induced moan coming from the living room, making them both chuckle.

“Kim's awake.” Penny grinned and gently stood up.

She went into the bathroom and quickly did her ablutions before grabbing the Advil from Cheryl's medicine cabinet. She returned to the bedroom and exited it again to the living room, quickly crossing it to head into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She quickly downed two pills and another glass of water before grabbing two more and bringing them into the living room for the girls.

Kim took some right away and waited for Cheryl to arrive so she could use the bathroom. Once all were done, they sat down on the couch and armchair and leaned back, sighing deeply and resting until the pain receded to bearable levels.

“Anyone want some breakfast? I'm sure I have some cereal around here somewhere.” Cheryl said into the room, not even opening her eyes.

“I think dinner might be more suitable.” Penny said.

“Huh? Why? What time is it?” came from Kim.

“It's after five in the afternoon.” Penny replied.

“Holy crap, we slept almost ten hours.” Cheryl sighed. “At least it was a fun night. And also a fun waking up, with Penny fondling my breast and all.”

“Say what?” Kim shrieked while Penny blushed.

“Shut up, I did it in my sleep.” Penny mumbled.

“Do you fondle the breasts of other women so often that it becomes second nature?” Kim asked with a grin.

“No, only the cuddling part. My body probably wondered why there was more meat on the chest than usual.”

“That's a nice way to say that I have nice breasts.” Cheryl smiled.

“Mine are still bigger.” Penny said, poking out her tongue.

“Only by a very small margin! And Kim's surpass even yours, even if just barely.”

“Thank you.” Kim threw in.

“And on that note, I should probably head home. It's New Year's Eve tomorrow, I have plans to fulfill.” Penny said and stood up.

“You mean, go shopping to buy more alcohol?” Cheryl grinned.

“Funny. But partially true. See you later.”

Penny hugged both girls and left Cheryl's apartment and headed down the stairs. She got into her car and drove straight home, grocery shopping could wait until tomorrow. Right now she wanted to get home, take a shower, have something to eat and then maybe have sex with Leonard, not necessarily in that order. As she pulled up on the parking lot in front of her building, her phone rang. One look at the screen showed her mother as the caller.

“Hi, mom.” Penny said into the speaker after accepting the call.

“Hey sweetie. We wanted to wish you a Happy New Year.” her mother told her and Penny could hear the 'Hey Slugger' coming from her dad in the background.

“Thanks, but you're a day early.” Penny said while entering the building, slowly walking up the stairs.

“I know but me and your father aren't home most of the day tomorrow. We're going to the Hansons, they are having a big party for the neighborhood.”

“That's nice. Can you greet them for me?”

“Sure thing. So, what are your plans?” her mother asked and Penny knew exactly about what or rather who she was inquiring.

“Probably spending it with Leonard and the guys.”

“Leonard, huh? That seems to go well.” Penny could just hear the smile in her mothers voice.

“Yes, it is.” Penny replied, unable to prevent the giggling in her voice.

“Just don't overdo yourself. Remember, chafing down there is no fun.”

“MOM!” Penny shouted. “I really don't want to have a conversation like this with you.”

“Relax, I'm just pulling your leg. Any plans today?”

“No, I had a girls night yesterday and truthfully, it lasted longer than we expected and I got up only an hour ago.”

“So, I guess you won't go out tonight again, huh?” her mother asked while Penny rounded the corner to the last set of stairs.

“No, I think I’m just going to stay in tonight and do laundry.” Penny said just as some metallic monstrosity crashed through the door of the guys' apartment.

She screamed bloody murder, dropping her phone as she fled down to the third floor. Her phone had landed on the next landing and she could hear her mother shout into the speaker, asking if she was okay. She grabbed the phone and tried to bring her breathing under control, the adrenalin coursing through her making the effort very hard.

“I'm okay, mom.” Penny said after bringing the phone back to her ears. “The guys did something strange and it scared the crap out of me. Listen, come online in an hour or so and we'll talk on Skype. Love you. Bye.”

“Bye Penny. Bring Leonard with you when you call us on Skype.”

She ended the call and slowly went up the stairs. When she rounded the last corner again, she saw the guys standing around what looked like a small robot with a saw blade attached to it.

“Leonard?” she timidly asked her sweetie, who was in the middle of the hallway, picking up larger pieces of wood.

“Uh-huh?” he hummed with a big smile on his face.

“What the hell?”

“Killer robot. We built it.” came his explanation, as if that told her anything.

“Yeah, well, it almost killed me.” she said, getting a look from Sheldon.

“If it wanted to kill you, you’d be dead.” the lanky physicist said while Howard used his remote to roll the construct back into the apartment.

“So, who exactly does it want to kill?” she asked, following them in.

“I’m sorry, are you unaware of the upcoming Southern California Robot Fighting League Round Robin Invitational?”

“You know, since I moved last year, not all my mail has been forwarded.” she replied sarcastically.

“It’s a big deal. There’s an awards banquet and a dance afterward. Perhaps you’d like to come with me. I know the other fellas would be really excited to see a girl there.” Howard said.

“How is it supposed to be a dance if I’m the only girl?” she asked him.

“Well, that may be a slight exaggeration. You’d be the only doable girl.”

_'There is only one person in this apartment who's doing me and it's certainly not you.'_ she thought. “You’re a pig, Howard.”

“How is doable anything but a compliment?” the engineer asked as if such a statement was normal.

“Howard, why don’t we just work on the robot?” Leonard piped in, but Penny wasn't sure who he wanted to save, her from Howard or vice versa.

“Please, Leonard, not now. Once again, Penny and I have begun our little tango.” Howard said to her boyfriend.

“Our tango?” she asked him, not even sure if she wanted to know the answer.

“The carnal repartee, the erotic to and fro. But as delicious as the appetizer might be, at some point we will have to succumb and eat the entree while it’s still… hot.” Howard continued and Penny had to fight hard not to gag. She knew he was creepy but this took it to a whole new level.

“I’m begging you, stop talking.” Leonard tried again, knowing Penny well enough to sense her darkening mood.

“Look, normally I can just ignore you. I mean, I get it, you’re a little peculiar. You know, like Sheldon.” Penny said, trying to stay calm.

“Excuse me, Penny, but in this room, you’re the one who’s peculiar.” Sheldon interjected, his statement receiving a nod from Raj and a look from Leonard.

“Yeah, you might be right.” she agreed and turned her attention back to Howard. “But back to you. I know you think you’re some sort of smooth-talking ladies’ man, but the truth is, you are just pathetic and creepy.”

“Um, so what are you saying?” he asked.

_'Is he really that delusional?'_ “I am saying it is not a compliment to call me doable. It’s not sexy to stare at my ass and say, “Ooh, it must be jelly ’cause jam don’t shake like that.” And most important, we are not dancing a tango, we’re not to-ing and fro-ing. Nothing is ever going to happen between us. Ever.” Penny said, getting louder with every word, her mood evaporating.

“Wait a minute. This isn’t flirting, you’re serious.” Howard said as if unable to accept the truth. That did it and Penny finally snapped.

“Flirting? You think I’m flirting with you? I am not flirting with you, no woman is ever gonna flirt with you, you’re just gonna grow old and die alone.” Penny shouted.

“Thanks for the heads up.” Howard stated while taking off his protective glasses.

“Howard, where you going?” Leonard asked as Howard started to leave.

“I’m going home to live my creepy, pathetic life.” came the answer and soon enough, Howard was gone.

“Wow.” came from Leonard.

“Well, someone had to say it.” Penny tried to reason. She saw Raj whispering something into Leonard's ears which made her boyfriend laugh. “What?”

“He said maybe we should enter you in the killer robot competition.” Leonard explained and laughed with Raj until he noticed the glare from Penny that said in no small terms that any more laughing would result in a long period of time without him seeing her naked body. Luckily for him, his laughing stopped. Raj's too but he looked more scared of her.

“Okay, I'm leaving. Try not to crash your robot through my door, will you?”

Before Penny left, she looked at Leonard and with a slight movement of her head, mentioning to him that she wanted him to come over as soon as he could. He nodded slightly and Penny went to her place, flopping down on her couch. She booted up her laptop and started Skype right away. Her parents weren't online yet but she had told her mother that she'd need an hour or so anyway.

She surfed the internet for a while but before she got to page three of the shoe shopping site she had found, a knock on the door announced the arrival of the person she had been waiting for. Leonard opened the door and entered without waiting for her to call him in but they had gotten into this rhythm a long time ago so she wasn't upset over it. Only he was allowed to do that though.

“Hey, you wanted to talk to me?” he started the conversation.

“More like, my parents wanted to talk to you.” she replied and watched him look around. “They aren't here. We're going to video chat later and mom wanted you to be here when they call.”

“Oh, any problems I should be aware about?” he asked.

“Nothing I can think of. I haven't complained about you, quite the opposite.”

“Maybe they want to see what all the fuss is about.” he grinned and sat down next to her on the couch.

“Fuss? That's a nice way of describing our relationship.” she said and playfully smacked his arm as he started to browse her shoe shopping list.

“More shoes? Don't you have enough already?”

“Leonard! A woman can never have enough shoes.”

“I always found that confusing that women buy so many clothes and shoes, sometimes without even wearing them once until their expiration date is reached.“

“Sweetie, clothes don't have an expiration date, we don't eat them.” she smiled, enjoying their back and forth.

“Of course they do, it's called fashion trend. Only it's easier for people, especially males, to use them once their expired. It's not like taking a bite of moldy bread.”

“You mean males like you?”

“If that weren't true, I'd be offended.” he grinned. “But yeah, I wear the same things for years.”

“The only reason I like your hoodies is because I like to throw them over myself when I have to get up after sex and can't find my robe.”

“Those are the ones I really hate to wash because they smell great once you wore them.”

“Really? I can't really imagine that they smell good when I sweat into them.”

“I don't really see it as sweat.” Leonard said and grinned. “It's more the scent of satisfaction I pick up and knowing I made you smell like that gives me a sense of pride.”

Smiling, Penny threw one of her legs over him and straddled his waist, putting her arms around his neck and kissing him. Running her tongue over his lower lip, she begged for entrance which was promptly granted, giving her access to his mouth and making their tongues do another dance. As she almost always did in that position, Penny started grinding her hips on him, feeling him stiffen even through her jeans.

Leonard's arms went around her waist and pressed her to him, his hands roaming across her back, applying pressure to several spots that made her shiver. He moved them under her jacket and pulled her shirt out of her pants, running his hands on her naked skin, making her shiver in anticipation.

She discarded her jacket without separating their lips, her hands going back around his neck as soon as the piece of clothing was gone. Her grinding became harder, his erection more noticeable under her and she couldn't stop a grin forming when one of his hands moved on her chest.

“I fondled Cheryl's breast this morning.” she mumbled between kisses.

“What?” came his shocked question and Penny closed her eyes in embarrassment before pushing her head on his shoulder.

“Oh no, I didn't want to say that out loud.”

“Penny? Care to explain?” she heard him say but also the smile in his voice. “Do I have to be worried about your sexuality?”

“Nothing happened! We had girls night and when everyone else but me and Kim had left, we drank some more and talked too much. I might have also told them the tale of me biting your... you know.”

“I see.” he deadpanned.

“Shut up. Anyway, Kim fell asleep on the couch and since I couldn't drive home and it was after five in the morning, Cheryl said I should sleep next to her in her bed. And during my sleep I must have spooned her because when her voice woke me up, my hand was on her breast. You know, like you do a lot when we sleep in each others arms.”

“I know what you mean. But so far, you haven't fondled my breast in the morning, usually I fondle yours.” Leonard said smugly.

“As I said, nothing happened. And if you don't shut up and kiss me some more, I will throw you out of my apartment.”

Instead of answering, his lips reconnected to hers and his hands continued their roaming on her chest and back. Separating again, she pulled the shirt off and threw it to the floor before kissing him again, her tongue getting more aggressive by the minute. When he cupped her bra-clad breasts, she let out a soft moan, mentally cursing the offending piece of fabric that prevented his hands from making contact.

She grabbed behind her and opened her bra, discarding it to the floor like the shirt and stretched her upper body to give his mouth access to her breasts. Her left nipple immediately disappeared into his mouth and she felt him sucking on it like a baby wanting milk. His tongue ran circles around it while his fingers flicked and gently squeezed her right one, making both of them hard as rocks and shooting heat into her core. She felt her center moisten and pressed his head harder against her when suddenly they heard a voice that she really didn't want to hear right now.

“Hey slugger. We're home and... oh my god!”

“DADDY?” Penny shouted and turned her head around, seeing the shocked faces of her parents on the screen. Why did she have to put her parents on auto-accept?

With a shriek, she jumped off Leonard's lap and out of the frame to grab her shirt and jacket from the floor. Leonard stayed on the couch, blushing deeply and attempting to smile.

“Hello Wyatt. Hello Meryl.” he greeted the parents of the woman he was just making out with.

“Did we call at a bad time?” Wyatt asked but Leonard saw the glint of mischief in his eyes and also the smile on Meryl's face.

“Well, yes actually but it could have been worse if you had called ten minutes later.” Leonard said, deciding that a good offense was better than a weak defense.

“Leonard!” Penny shout-whispered to him as she finished putting her shirt on.

“We could call in an hour again, if that works better for you.” Wyatt smirked, almost unable to prevent the chuckle.

“No worries. After getting caught by the parents, it will take a while for him to come back out again.”

“Leonard!” Penny tried again, louder this time before sitting down next to him, jacket on again. “Hi daddy, hi mommy.” she said to her parents.

“Hey sweetie.” her mother replied. “When we said you should bring Leonard over when we call, we had no idea you needed to do this to make him stay.”

Leonard couldn't prevent a laugh as Penny blushed hard and threw her head into her hands. His mirth was rewarded with a backhanded slap on his leg.

“So Wyatt, I heard you wanted to talk to me?” Leonard started, gracefully changing the subject.

“We did. We were wondering if you would like to accompany Penny on her next visit. We'd love to meet you in person.”

“My next visit? When was that decided?” Penny interjected.

“Didn't you say the last time you were here that you wanted to be here again on my birthday in March?” Meryl asked.

“Right. But I don't know if I can come, you know plane tickets are expensive and I can't let you pay for them all the time. And I couldn't ask Leonard to pay for them either, it wouldn't be fair.”

“It's still fourteen weeks away, don't say no right away.” Wyatt remarked. “Leonard, what about you? Would you be open to a visit if Penny is able to?”

“Um, sure.” Leonard replied, still overwhelmed by the invitation.

“We'll have to see when the time comes.” Penny said, ending the discussion about her financial worries before it could begin. “How are things on the farm?”

“The Thompsons gave us a new horse.” Wyatt said.

“Really? Tell me about it.” Penny replied excitedly.

“We named him Tornado because of his temper.” Meryl piped in.

“Why? What's wrong with him?”

“He won't let anyone near him if he's not completely exhausted. He runs everyday and the only time he lets anyone near him is when we clean him. But you can forget about putting a saddle on him.”

“If I come visit and you still have him, maybe I can give it a go.” Penny suggested.

“Why not, it's worth a shot.” Wyatt agreed.

“So, that's what we wanted to talk about. We let you get back to what you were doing before we called.” Meryl said and winked.

“Mom!” Penny whined, blushing again.

“Yeah Leonard, you can go back now to defiling our daughter.” Wyatt laughed.

“Daddy!” Penny shouted and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

“Just kidding, Slugger. See you soon.” Wyatt said and ended the call, leaving Leonard and Penny sitting in silence.

“Ugh, I'm so sorry, sweetie.” Penny said and saw Leonard grin. “What's so funny?”

“I like your parents. So much different than mine. And so understanding.”

“I can't decide if that was sarcasm or not.”

“It wasn't. Usually parents might be okay with their daughters being grown-ups and having sex with men but walking in on them, even online is a whole different ball game.”

“Yeah, you might be right. So, let me close the program first and then we can continue.”

“Continue with what?” he asked.

“What do you think?” was her reply and with that, she threw her legs over him again to straddle him once more.

She quickly discarded her jacket and shirt, leaving her topless again and Leonard lost no time in getting her nipple back into his mouth. Her hands fisted into his hair, attempting to push him closer into her chest than possible but she didn't care. It felt way too good.

Leonard pushed his fingertips below the waistband of her jeans, the tightness of them preventing him from going any further. She could hear a groan but didn't know if it came from him or herself. To give him better access, she opened both the zipper and the button and as soon as she did, his hands dipped lower and pushed her panties up to cup her ass.

She moaned into his mouth, enjoying the feeling but despite that, she stood up and wiggled out of her pants and panties, leaving herself naked in front of him. Lifting his upper body from the backrest into a sitting position, he started running his hands up and down her smooth legs, giving extra attention to her cheeks.

“You have way too many clothes on.” she says, in both admonishment and encouragement.

He pulled his hoodie over his head and discarded his shirt while her hands fingered with the button and zipper of his pants, opening them up. Using his hands as leverage on the backrest, he lifted his hips and let her pull both his pants and shorts down until he is sitting on her couch in nothing but socks.

She took his hard manhood into her hand and started stoking it, eliciting soft moans from him. His hips bucked upwards but she kept a slow pace, not wanting to risk him coming too early. Her lips connected to his in a searing kiss, their breaths mingling and his hands went back to her breasts, kneading them softly until she moaned louder than him.

“Kim and Cheryl asked me today how big you are.” she said in a quite voice after separating their lips.

“What? Why?”

“They want to find boyfriends with a meat whip like yours.” she replied, still stroking.

“Meat whip, really? And although I feel smug right now, I have to ask. Why?”

“Their plethora of boyfriends can't cut it and they are envious of what you are doing to me on a constant basis.” she grinned.

“And what did you tell them?” he asked, a little apprehensive, knowing that he couldn't really be considered big.

“That I don't know and that I don't need to know.” she answered, kissing him again.

“Um, do you want to?”

“No. Because, as I told them, it's enough for me to know that you fill me out and make me come often. And that I can do this.” she said and lowered her head, taking him into her mouth.

“Wow, Penny.” he panted, as his head fall back.

Taking her own advice to the girls, she relaxed her throat and went down to his base, swallowing as she went, knowing that he liked this immensely. The groan he emitted told her enough and she smiled inside as she kept bobbing her head up and down slowly, pressing her tongue against the shaft and swirling it around the tip when she was up.

The small part of her brain that kept its rational during sexual activities thanked Kim again for making it clear to her that she did enjoy blowing him for the power she had over him. And even though swallowing his spill was still out of the question and coming in her mouth would stay a very rare occurrence, the simple act of making him even harder with her mouth and feeling him twitch was a gigantic turn on for her.

She felt his hands tugging at her chin and released him with a lout plop. She stood up and climbed onto the couch, placing her feet next to his hips but before she could lower her body, his head was between her legs and his tongue on her clit.

“God, Leonard!” she shouted and quickly grabbed the backrest, before she collapsed from the sudden sensation.

The pleasure coursing through her thanks to his very talented tongue notwithstanding, her current position was quite uncomfortable, her back arched and her knees slightly bend. Leonard must have realized that too because without opening his eyes, he maneuvered his body until his shoulders were on the same height as the backrest.

He unwrapped his hands from around her hips and pushed them upwards against her cheeks from below them, his elbows coming to rest against the couch. With a bit of apprehension, she swung one leg over the back of the couch and let her weight sink on his hands. Hoping for the best, she did the same with the other leg, pressing her calves against the couch to reduce the weight he had to hold.

But she knew that she couldn't hold out that long and soon had most of her weight back on his hands which he, surprisingly, had no problem to hold up while he continued to lick her, his tongue lapping between her folds and running circles around her clit. She took one hand off the couch and put his on his head, pressing it harder against her. Her hips moved on their own volition, creating sweet friction.

Time had lost all meaning again when she came hard with a loud moan, her body shaking in orgasmic bliss. Leonard increased the speed of his tongue, pushing it deep inside her to feel her walls clenching.

“You taste amazing, especially when you come.” he grinned up at her when she had calmed down.

“Leonard, have you been working out?” she asked as she placed her legs back on the couch, his hands still connected to her cheeks.

“Yes, I try to hit the university gym as often as I can. Which isn't a lot to tell the truth but I get some training in.”

“Well, it's totally worth it.” she replied and finally sank down, grabbing his erection between her legs and guiding him to the opening before she impaled herself on him with a loud groan.

A strong and forceful grinding movement on her part was impossible due to their bodies being pressed against each other so Penny did the next best thing, using her thigh muscles to make her body bounce up and down. Without her feet placed on the couch, this position didn't allow him to go in as far as his length allowed but it was still an amazing feeling how he moved along her tight walls. She helped the feeling along by rhythmically clenching her inner muscles with her movement, the groan coming from his throat telling her that he really enjoyed it.

“Penny, oh my god.” Leonard panted as she kept clenching and bouncing for more than ten minutes.

“Yes! Oh god, yes! I'm coming!” she shouted as her long-sought climax finally overcame her.

She stopped the bouncing and rammed her lips on his, reducing her movement to a slow grind as she came down from her high. Leonard grabbed her around the waist and without pulling out, laid them flat on the couch. He hooked her right leg over his shoulder, pressing her knee to her chest while she wrapped her left leg around his waist.

After he made sure that they wouldn't fall off, he started pumping his hips in a fast pace, their skin slapping against each other and the angle of his penetration hitting her g-spot in his familiar manner. Her head fell back and her eyes shut while she rode the waves of pleasure, panting hard and feeling the coils tighten as another orgasm came closer.

“Leonard, harder! Fuck me harder!” she shouted and he happily complied, pushing into her with gusto, hard and deep and fast, her insides making him feel more alive than ever before.

He kept pumping hard, Penny wiggling under him, her hips meeting his every thrust and her inner muscles clenching again. She felt his movement become erratic and his breathing change but realized that he was trying to hold out.

“Come for me baby.” she panted. “Come for me.”

His efforts, combined with her tight, clenching walls and now her sweet voice drove him over the edge with a loud groan. He pumped hard as he spilled inside her and felt her climax, even if she hadn't bitten into his shoulder.

With another groan, he grabbed her around the waist with one arm and lifted them back up into a sitting position with her still on his lap and their mouths connected. During his lift, he had pulled out, much to her displeasure and she knew that if they didn't move in a minute or two, she might have to clean her couch before sitting on it again. Since they were alone in her apartment, enjoying the afterglow of sex, it came with some horror when they heard a familiar voice from behind them.

“Could you tilt the camera down a bit so we can finally see what he's packing?” Cheryl's voice called from behind her.

“What the hell?” Penny shouted and jumped off Leonard, grabbing a cushion and holding it in front of her chest. “Cheryl? Is that you?”

“Yes. Now please do as I said.”

“Where are you?” Penny asked.

“I'm at home, Kim is next to me and we're in front of my laptop. We called you on Skype and it auto-accepted our call. I must say, we didn't expect a live show like this.”

“How much did you see?” Leonard asked, almost managing to stop himself from laughing.

“When it accepted, we saw Penny sitting on your hands, your face between her legs.” Kim said into the microphone.

“Too bad, you missed her head between my legs.”

“Leonard! Don't egg them on!” Penny admonished and bend forward to check her laptop. The screen was dark, having shut off after not using it for ten minutes and when she saw her desktop again, nothing was out of the ordinary. “Oh god, I didn't close Skype, I only minimized it. Why did I have to turn off the sound?” Penny whined and closed the connection, shutting down Skype this time. She would deal with her voyeuristic friends later.

“I'm so sorry Leonard.” Penny said apologetically, burying her head in the cushion she was holding.

“It's okay. As you said, they stole those recordings from you and have already seen us doing it. And you heard her, they saw mostly your back.”

“But what about the last position where I was on my back?”

“I don't think they saw anything, maybe some of my upper body. You heard her, the camera was tilted up, so they shouldn't have seen to much.” he explained.

“Oh god, I'm so embarrassed.”

“Look at it this way. Now you can get more concessions from them when you lord the fact over them, that they watched us instead of hanging up. And they have seen you have three more climaxes.”

“That's right! They'll be green with envy again. You're a stallion, Leonard Hofstadter.”

“Don't expect me to neigh.” he said with a straight face which caused her to laugh.

“Nah, I rather have you moaning when we're having sex.”

“Okay, I'd love to stay here but I need to get going.” he said and got up, putting on his clothes.

“What? I thought you'd stay here the night.”

“I'd love to. But we have to repair our door and tell the landlord to get us a new one. And I have to go to work tomorrow, which means an early rise.”

“Work tomorrow? It's December 31st.”

“I know. But we have experiments to run, deadlines to meet. Well, me and Raj do, Sheldon just goes to work because in his view, vacation days are things that only happen to other people.”

“Isn't that weird, going to work on the last day of the year?” she asked, putting on her clothes again after cleaning herself up with wet wipes.

“It's not so weird. You'd be surprised how many people work tomorrow. When we're in the cafeteria during lunch tomorrow, I don't expect many seats to be empty.”

“That's kind of sad. It's like admitting they have no life.”

“Come on, that's unfair. It might be true for Sheldon but scientists like me, we have to go. But only a short shift, we'll be home by three.”

“I'm curious, what do you guys do to celebrate New Year's?”

“Usually? Playing video games, eat the stuff Raj brings because he likes to cater, watching the Ball com down on TV, have a drink and then either more video games or bed. Sheldon doesn't even drink anything, because it screws up his toilet schedule.”

“Might if I join you?”

“Gladly. But you better prepare to be bored. We don't party like you might be used to.”

“It's okay. After what happened a few minutes ago, I don't really want to face Kim and Cheryl right now.”

“Then it's a date.” he said and bent down to kiss her. “Bye Penny.

“Bye Leonard. See you tomorrow.” she replied and watched him leave.

Thinking about tomorrow, she tried to come up with something to do while Leonard was at work. She'd be watching Friends and Sex and the City in a few minutes, so she didn't need to do that the entire morning tomorrow. Smiling almost sadly to herself, she grabbed the phone, sighing when she thought about what she was about to do. Oh how far had she fallen.

“Hey Mike.” she greeted the day manager of the Cheesecake Factory.

“Hey Penny. What's up?”

“I was just thinking, my boyfriend has to work tomorrow, is it possible for me to do a dinner shift?”

“Penny? Are you sick? Or is my hearing impaired? I could have sworn I just heard you ask if you could do extra work.” Mike replied with mock shock in his voice.

“Shut up. I need something to do.”

“Wait, I might be able to help you. Josie asked me earlier if it was possible for her to get tomorrow off. Can you hold a minute?”

“Sure.” Penny replied and waited. She could hear Mike talking in the background, he was probably calling Josie.

“I can move your January 2nd shift to tomorrow from ten to two, if you want.” he suggested.

“Sounds great. I take it.”

“Okay, I add you to the roster. Josie will do your shift on January 2nd then, which means you have that day off.”

“Thanks Mike. Bye.”

“No problem. See you tomorrow.”

Penny hung up the phone and leaned back into her couch with a sigh. One one hand she was extremely happy with her current love life, on the other it was another scary sign of how dependent she had become of Leonard's presence. So much that she chose work over sitting at home. A few months ago, that wouldn't have bothered her at all. With another sigh, she went into her kitchen to fix herself some dinner before starting her lonely movie night.

* * *

After a fitful sleep and another lonely breakfast, she had headed into work to tend tables on New Years Eve. But she couldn't complain, since she had tons of work to do because it seemed that half of Pasadena had decided to eat out that day. While Penny bustled between tables, to-ing and fro-ing, bringing drinks and food, taking away empty dishes and glasses and the most important thing, good tips.

She walked back into the restaurant after bringing another tray of empty dishes back to the kitchen. Normally that would have been a busboy's job but they were swamped as well and she didn't mind doing that occasionally. She reset the table that had just emptied and saw two familiar figures walking into the restaurant, one of them ducking to fit under the door.

“Hey you two.” Penny greeted Frank and Alice and waved them over to the table.

“Hey Penny.” Alice said and gave her a hug.

“Take this table. It's against the wall and Frank can sit sideways when his legs don't fit under it.” she offered.

“Thank you.” the aforementioned giant replied in his deep voice.

“You need menus?”

“No, this guy.” Alice started, pointing her thumb at Frank. “Couldn't stop talking about the barbecue burgers here.”

“Hey, they taste great.” Frank defended himself.

“I agree, they do.” Penny said.

“Don't encourage him.” Alice admonished.

“Don't encourage him to come here and eat? I think not.” Penny grinned. “So, another barbecue burger then. Or two again?”

“Make it three. Bacon on the side, extra fries. And the diet coke.” Frank ordered.

“I take a round of pasta with spinach. And a piece of strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Ginger ale as well.” Alice added.

“Coming right up. Frank, any dessert for you?” Penny asked.

“No, he gets three burger menus, no dessert for him.” Alice said and Frank lowered his eyes as if this no dessert thing was a running gag between the two. As she brought the orders to the kitchen, she was amazed at how much control Alice had over Frank.

After bringing their food this time, Penny had unfortunately no time to sit down with them, not just because they were at a two person table but also because she had too much to do. After another hour of working, she saw them leave and walked to the table to collect the check, finding a generous tip with it. With a smile, she set back to work to finish her shift. She couldn't wait to get home and be with Leonard again.

* * *

After getting home, she found out, much to her dismay, that Leonard wasn't home yet, so she used the time to do some housecleaning. After her usual shower after work and getting dressed in a multicolored shirt and the same pants as the day before, she cleaned the clothes off the floor and looked in horror at her full sink.

With a sigh, she set to work, cleaning her dishes, cups and glasses. Even though it took only ten minutes, she hated doing that, especially thanks to her habit of leaving them lying in the sink for days until the food rest stubbornly clung to it. As an added bonus, she accidentally dropped one dish into the filled sink which led to the water splash out and soak her shirt and pants. Finally finishing, she grabbed a dish towel and started drying her stuff. Midway through the cups, a knock interrupted her.

“Hey.” she greeted Leonard, wondering why he didn't just come in.

“Hey, you got a minute?” he asked.

“Yeah, come on in. What’s up? And why didn't you just come in? I told you it was okay.”

“I didn't know if you were home yet. And I need you to apologize to How…”

“Get out.” she interrupted him, knowing the name he was going to say.

“Come on. Wolowitz won’t come out of his house and we need him for a robot battle.”

“Well, then have the robot go and get him.” she said and closed the door before returning to her dishes.

“The robot didn’t hurt his feelings.”

“His feelings needed to be hurt.” she stated.

“He’s been in bed for two days.”

“Yeah, probably with a blow-up doll.”

“He’s not with a… does it really matter who or what he’s with? The guy is devastated.”

“Oh, please, how could I possibly devastate Howard?”

“Okay, don’t take this as a criticism, but you kind of have that overexposed-to-gamma-rays thing going on.” Leonard said, much to her confusion.

“What does that mean?” she asked, really at a lost.

“You know, like, most of the time, you’re the easygoing Bruce Banner, but then, when you get angry, you kind of turn into, like, you know, grrrrr!” Leonard replied, his face contorting as if constipated as he growled.

“I turn into a bear?”

“Seriously? Gamma rays? Bruce Banner? You didn’t get The Incredible Hulk from that? Never mind, just, please go talk to him.”

“And say what? That I didn’t mean it, because I meant it.”

“Well, maybe you can go at it from a different angle, like, um, you see a glimmer of goodness in him and you only said what you said because you want to nurture it and make it shine.” he suggested and she could do nothing but blow a raspberry at that. “Okay, let’s try it this way. Remember the day you moved in here and you used my longing for your naked body to make me go to your boyfriend’s apartment to get your TV back and he was nine feet tall and I had to break university rules so Frank would help me and I wouldn't get hurt by that neanderthal.”

“Okay, come on, that’s not fair.” she whined.

“I almost got fired!”

“Really? You never told me that.”

“I didn't want to tell you. But it's against university rules to help a student with an experiment when he's also in a class that you teach. It didn't matter that the experiment wasn't for my class or that it had nothing to do with it.”

“I'm sorry. Fine, I'll talk to Wolowitz.” she agreed.

“Thank you. I should probably give you a heads up about his mother.” he started.

“What about her?”

“She’s a delightful woman. You’ll love her.” he said with a smile.

“Why do I have the feeling you're lying right now.” she asked suspicious.

“Um, well, she can be a bit overwhelming when you meet her for the first time.”

“Fine. I'll go after changing. But let me tell you, this is not the way I wanted us to spend the afternoon.”

“Me neither. I hope you can make him hurry up though, our battle against Kripke is in a few hours.”

“I'll go right after I change.” she said and headed towards her bedroom.

She took off her shirt and pants and grabbed some brown pants and a shirt in the same color but lighter tone. As she stood there with them in hand, she heard a click and upon turning towards the door, she saw Leonard standing there with his camera in hand a smile on his face.

“Did you just take a picture of me?”

“Yes.” he replied and pocketed his phone.

“Why?”

“Because when you stand sideways like that it really brings out your curves.”

“If you want, I can pose for you.”

“Later. Now you're going to Howard.”

“Ugh, fine.” she huffed and got dressed before leaving her apartment to take the twenty minute drive to the house where Howard lived with his mom.

“Your ass looks amazing in those pants by the way.” Leonard called after her as she walked down the stairs. She was still smiling when she got into her car.

* * *

When Penny reached Howard's house, she let out a loud sigh. Instead of spending time with Leonard, preferably naked in bed, she had to apologize to Howard and make him come back into the group just because they wanted to fight a robot battle. 

She got out of the car and headed towards the door. After she rang the doorbell, a massively overweight woman dressed in a muumuu opened the door.

“Yes? Can I help you?” the woman asked.

“Hi, I'm Penny, is Howard home? I need to talk to him.”

“Howard, there’s a blonde girl, Patsy, here to see you!” his mom shouted in a voice that sounded like she gargled with razor blades every morning.

“It's Penny, not Patsy.” Penny corrected and walked into the house and up the stairs.

“I don’t want to talk to her.” she could hear Howard's voice from his room.

“Hey.” she greeted him after entering, watching him complain to his mother. “So, I just came by to see how you were doing.”

“I’m fine.” the engineer replied.

“Good. Your mom seems nice.” she tried to start a conversation while trying to avoid breathing through her nose thanks to his body odor.

“People move away from her on the bus. What do you want?”

“Okay, look. Howard, I just want to apologize for some things that I have said. About you. I’ve been informed that you have feelings. And apparently, I have hurt them. So, I’m sorry.”

“Fine, you’re sorry. Good-bye.” he said rudely.

“So, you’re okay?”

“Hey, I’m a big boy. I’m not traumatized by some random comment from some random woman. I mean, get over yourself.”

“Okay. Well, bye.” Penny said and left the room relieved. That went quicker than she thought and it meant more time to spend with Leonard. She was about to go back down the stairs when she heard him starting to cry. With a sigh, she went back inside.

“Howard, come on. How is it possible that my comment was so hard on you?” she asked him and sat down on his bed.

“It's not yours. Yours just drove me over the edge. Have you any idea what it feels like to get rejected over and over again despite your best efforts?” he cried and shuffled over to sit next to her, making Penny again breath through her mouth.

“Why don't you tell me about it.” she suggested and hoped that it wasn't a mistake to ask that.

“Well, it started when I was five...” he started and Penny rolled her eyes. This was going to take a long time.

_ 'Why did I have to come here?' she thought to herself.  'If I had played my cards right, I would be bouncing on Leonard's cock right now, screaming out one orgasm after another. Or I'd be on my back, having his tongue run over every inch of my skin and then turn us around and sit on his face, ordering him to make me climax a few times before dropping to my hands and knees and begging him to ravish me, doing me roughly until my voice gives out.' _

“And then, when I was fourteen, I met Marcy Grossman.” Howard's voice brought her back to the present. She had no idea how long she had sat here, daydreaming about Leonard and his skill in bed but it must have been a while when he was already at age fourteen. “She was so beautiful. She just got her braces off but they left a little of the overbite. It was so hot, like a sexy little chipmunk. I didn’t have the courage to ask her out, but I dedicated a song to her at the ninth grade talent show.”

“Aw, that sounds sweet.” she interrupted him, hoping it would allay any possible suspicions that she wasn't listening before.

“Marcy Grossman is sunshine, on a cloudy day, when it’s cold outside, Marcy Grossman is the month of May…” he started singing and Penny tried not to listen. It was a strange feeling to see and hear Howard singing

“Oh, it’s fun.” she said after he finally stopped.

“And then she came up with that sexy little chipmunk mouth and spit in my hair. Which brings us to tenth grade.” he continued but Penny cut him off.

“Howard, do you think maybe sometimes you try too hard?”

“Look at me. What chance do I have if I don’t try too hard?”

“Well, you’d have a terrific chance. I mean, you’re smart, you’re funny, you have a cool job.” 'Like my Leonard does.' “You build stuff that goes into outer space.”

“I guess.” he admitted.

“Look, I’m telling you, I’ve known you for, like, a year and a half and this is the first time I feel like I’m talking to a real person. And you know what? I like him, he’s a nice guy.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know.” he said with doubt in his voice.

“I do.” she assured him and watched in horror as he lifted his head towards her and closed the distance between them, opening his mouth.

_ 'Oh god, he wants to kiss me.' _ she thought and did the first thing that came to her mind. Before his lips could connect to any part of her face, her right arm shot forward and her fist connected to his nose with a loud crunching sound.

“For the love of... OW!” he shouted as blood poured out of his nose.

“I'm sorry, it was a reflex. You shouldn't have tried to kiss me!”

“Why not? You were inviting me to kiss you.”

“What? You see, this is why women don't like you, you assume too much! Now get into your bathroom to clean yourself up and I'll drive you to the hospital.”

“Seriously, don't give me your pity if you aren't willing to put out.” he muttered before he entered the en-suite.

It took all her effort not to give him a sharp retort to his last sentence. She could hear the sink working for several minutes and he returned from the bathroom without his robe but dressed in sweatpants and a gray sweater. How he managed to dress himself without getting blood on his clothes was a mystery to her but she was afraid to ask. Leading the way down the stairs, they went out of the house and into her car to drive to the emergency room.

* * *

Luckily for them, the emergency room was almost empty, since the most cases were expected later after midnight. The doctor gave Howard a once over and put a bandage over his nose after setting the nasal bone that Penny's punch had dislocated a bit.

After handing him several pieces of cotton to put into his nose to catch the remaining blood, he discharged them and they left the hospital. When they got into her car, his phone chirped with an incoming message.

“It's Raj. He says, it's urgent MONTE business. Can you take me to their place?” he asked her after reading the message.

“Sure. What's MONTE business? Some euphemism for monkey business?”

“No, MONTE is the name we gave our robot, it the abbreviation for Mobile Omnidirectional Neutralization and Termination Eradicator.”

“Oh, okay.” Penny said and started the car. This was even better because it meant she would be in Leonard's presence sooner.

After a mercifully short drive, they got out of the car and into the building. Hurrying up the stairs, for different reasons, they entered the guys' apartment without knocking to find the other three inside and a mangled mass of scrap metal on the table.

“I got your text. How bad is… Oy.” Howard commented upon seeing the damage.

“Forget the robot. What happened to you?” Leonard asked, seeing Howard's equally mangled face.

“He slipped and fell.” Penny quickly said.

“Yes, I slipped and fell. In the bathroom. Bounced right off the tub.” Howard added, hoping it would fool the guys. But it would probably only work on Sheldon.

“Yes, now he knows what bathtubs are capable of doing when you don’t treat them with respect.” Penny said, destroying the illusion right away.

“Yeah. They sucker punch you when your eyes are closed.” Howard muttered, causing Penny to smile.

“So what do you think, Howard? It’s not that bad, right?” Sheldon asked, pointing to the mass on the table.

“Oh, no. A little electrical tape, some solder. Are you insane? I’ve seen space probes that crashed into the desert that were in better shape than this.” Howard yelled.

“You’re right. Monte’s gone. We’ll bury him in the morning. A simple ceremony. I’ll speak. Leonard, you’ll play your cello.” Sheldon said, standing up.

“Sheldon, honey, aren’t you getting a little carried away? I mean, it’s just a toy robot.” Penny said.

“Just a toy robot?” the lanky physicist said and broke down in tears before running into his bedroom.

“Penny.” Leonard admonished.

“I know, I got it.” she sighed and moved towards Sheldon's bedroom. “Sheldon, I’m sorry.”

She opened the door the the bedroom and found him lying on his bed in a fetal position, moaning into his pillow. The bad kind of moaning, not the kind she did when she was pounded by Leonard.

“Sheldon, sweetie, it's okay. I didn't mean it in a bad way. It could have been worse. It could have been your dog.”

“A dog would be easier to forget, we put our heart and soul into building him. And now he is gone without ever doing what he was meant to do. Fight in the robot league. Killed by Kripke's robot.” he wailed.

“Come on Sheldon, do you really want to take it lying down? Rebuild him better than ever and kick the other guys' robot's ass.” she said, hoping to get through.

“No, it would never be the same.”

“You're a smart guy, I'm sure you can think of a good revenge.”

“Yeah. You're right. A good revenge.” he started and Penny could see the proverbial wheels turning in his head. “All I need is half a dozen etch-a-sketches and the next time Kripke uses his flamethrower, his bot will melt on the spot.”

“That's great.”she said and wondered why he needed half a dozen etch-a-sketches. Maybe she should ask Leonard later. “So, you want to come back out again?”

“Later. I want to honor him some more.”

“Okay. We'll be outside.”

Penny left the room and headed back to the living room where the guys had disposed of the remains of their robot. Meanwhile, Raj had put several trays of food on the kitchen table and Penny saw that Leonard hadn't been kidding when he said that Raj liked to cater.

“So, everything okay with him?” Leonard asked.

“Yeah, he wants to mourn your robot some more in private.” she replied. “So, it's four hours until midnight, what's the plan until then?”

“Video games.” all three replied in unison and Penny noticed the beer in Raj's hand.

“Okay. Which one?”

“Halo.” came from all three again. “But since Sheldon is currently unavailable...” Leonard continued alone.

“Don't worry, I'll play.” Penny said and grabbed a beer for herself and Leonard, handing him his bottle and sitting down next to him on the couch.

Raj was still in the armchair and to create the teams, Howard moved to the chair next to Raj, while Leonard and Penny made themselves comfortable on the couch, which consisted of Penny scooting closer to him.

“Okay, Team one is me and Howard, lets call it Rajard.” Raj started and out the team name in the the game where the points would be counted.

“Rajard?” Howard asked him.

“Yeah, Rajesh and Howard, so Rajard.” the Indian explained. “Team two will be Team Lenny.”

“Team Lenny? I like that, sounds cute.” Penny whispered into Leonard's ear and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek that the other two didn't see because their heads were glued to the TV.

They played several rounds with Penny pretty much wiping the floor with the others, giving Leonard enough time to take it slow and admire the woman of his dreams as she played. It gave him the chance to watch her closely. Her pouted lips, the adorable way the tip of her tongue poked out of her mouth when she concentrated, her shouts of joy when she won another round.

Between rounds, they ate the food Raj had prepared and even Sheldon joined them, if only to eat something and take more food into his room. For one round of Halo, they switched it up and Penny played solo against all three guys. Even then she won hands down, dying only once to a lucky shot from Leonard's sniper rifle. She gave him a seductive glare when she realized that he had shot her more or less in the ass in the game and got two raised eyebrows in return.

“Okay, it's a minute to midnight.” Howard proclaimed and brought them out of the gaming zone.

Even Penny was surprised that almost four hours had passed that quick and made a mental note to not get sucked into playing games again, the last time that had happened still a sore spot in her memory. As the countdown showed thirty seconds, Sheldon returned from the room to greet the new year with his friends.

“Okay, before the clock strikes midnight, there's one more thing.” Howard started. “Since we have a girl here for the first time, one of us should kiss her and I think in all fairness that it should be...”

“Leonard!” Penny shouted, interrupting Howard's speech.

“What? Why not me?”

“Remember the last time your lips came close to mine? You... slipped in the bathtub.” Penny said.

“Fine, kiss Leonard, what do I care.” he huffed.

“Why not me?” Raj asked.

“Because the last time we interacted, you were horrible to me.” Penny replied.

“Right. Sorry.”

“Come here you.” Penny said to her sweetie and pulled him closer, waiting for the last seconds to pass.

They counted down in unison and when the clock struck midnight, they welcomed the new year with a celebratory yell. While Howard and Raj clinked glasses, Penny pulled Leonard to him and planted her lips on his. Although they had kissed numerous times already, this was their first New Year's Eve as a couple and Penny poured all her emotions into hit. They kissed until they were interrupted by a clearing throat.

“Normally a New Year's Eve kiss is a peck on the lips, what made you kiss him for an entire minute?” Howard asked them while the others looked on.

“What do you think, Howard?” Penny asked him with an innocent look on her face.

“I get it. It's so clear now.” the engineer started and Penny thought that he had finally figured out that she and Leonard were an item. “You did that to mask your obvious interest in me.”

“Yeah, that's it.” Penny said sarcastically, shaking her head.

“Well, since the new year is here, I will go to bed. Good night.” Sheldon stated and left for his bedroom without further ado.

“So Penny, since the party is dying down, how about we start that pity sex that has been sparking between us since the hospital.” Howard suggested in his creepy voice.

“Howard.” Penny started, trying her utmost to stay calm. “I broke your nose when your lips came close to me, what do you think will happen to your private parts when they get near me?”

“Oh, I feel kind of dizzy. Must be a concussion. Raj, could you drive me home?” Howard said in almost indecent haste and fled the apartment, forcing Raj to follow him even when he evidently didn't want to, leaving Leonard and Penny alone in the living room.

“I knew he didn't slip and fall.” Leonard said. “You're really something Penny.”

“He should have known better.” she replied.

“Well, since we're alone now, how about we go to your place and do a special celebration, just the two of us. I remember you promising me some posing.” he remarked.

“Oh, that sounds enticing.” she said and kissed him hard. “Grab some of the food. We're going to need it later.”

“You mean before we go to sleep?” he asked with a smile.

“Sleep is for losers. I prefer a lot of moving instead.”

“Well, who am I to disagree. I hope the camcorder is ready for a long use.” he said as he grabbed a tray with finger food.

Penny had a hard time walking. All she wanted was to run into her apartment and get naked right away but knew that a slow burn would yield much greater satisfaction later. If Leonard had taught her one thing, it was that patience was a virtue when it came to him seducing her with only his mouth on her skin.

Best New Year's ever!

* * *

**And here the chapter ends. I hope you liked it, even with my changes :)**

**And who spotted the reference to Breaking Bad :D**

**Review please :)**


	24. Chapter 24

**So, I finished another one. I'm hoping to set up some future storylines with this one, so it's less action than others ^^**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.**

* * *

"So Penny, what's the reason for this impromptu girls night?" Cheryl asked as Penny handed her and Kim a glass of wine each. "You were pretty adamant not to spend time with us after the Skype incident."

"I think six weeks was enough penance. Also, I wanted to ask your advice about something." Penny replied.

"Okay, shoot."

"For the last month, twice a week, Leonard disappears for an hour or so, usually after work, sometimes during work. I heard that from the guys."

"And you are worried because...?" Kim interjected.

"Do I need to be worried that he's cheating on me?"

"I don't know, we don't know him that well." Cheryl said. "Is it always the same days or different days of the week?"

"As far as I know, every Monday and Thursday." Penny admitted.

"That doesn't sound like cheating to me." Kim said. "More like appointments. Has Leonard some medical things to take care of?"

"Not that I know of, as I said, I only heard about this stuff from Sheldon. Leonard hasn't said anything.”

“Well, either ask him about this or simply trust him not to be cheating on you.” Cheryl said and took another sip of her wine.

“It's not like I don't trust him but... I don't know.” Penny sighed. “Ever since the Doctor Stephanie incident I live in fear that he will meet some super smart woman and cast me aside like a pair of old socks.”

“Come on, don't sell yourself short like that.” Cheryl said forcefully. “Even if your not as smart as him, you have other qualities.”

“Name some, besides my looks.”

“Um... well...”

“I thought so.” Penny said.

“No, it's not like that. I was going to say, you're street smart, and if you are one thing, it's tenacious. When this doctor came along, you didn't take it and bowed down, you fought for him.”

“That's true.”

“And furthermore, one woman chasing Leonard doesn't mean that every other woman out there is after him.” Kim piped in.

“She wasn't the only one.” Penny admitted.

“Oh? How many were there?” Cheryl asked.

“Well, there's you two.” Penny said and pointed a finger at her friends, who at least had the decency to look ashamed. “Then there was his colleague who wanted to ask him on a date when she thought Leonard was single. Then the girl at the bed and breakfast he took me to. And that doctor.”

“And he has rejected them all, hasn't he?”

“Yeah. Well, when it came to B&B girl, he didn't know that she checked him out.”

“Okay, checking someone out is not the same as chasing someone.” Cheryl interjected. “Lets turn the argument around, since you met Leonard, how many men have hit on you?”

“Um...” Penny started, the number too high to be able to name them all.

“More than three I assume? So actually, Leonard needs to be more afraid of you cheating on him than the other way around.”

“I have never had any inkling of getting romantically involved with any of those guys. And seriously, I wanted you to help me, not making me feel stupid for thinking about Leonard and the possibility of losing him.” Penny whined. “I don't like you anymore.”

“Very funny. You love us.” Kim laughed. “Otherwise we wouldn't be here.”

“Yeah, that's true.” Penny agreed. Despite their sometimes strange notions and quirks, she loved her two friends. “Without you, me and Leonard probably wouldn't be together anymore.”

“Wait, what?” Cheryl sat up.

“You gave me all this great advice when me and Leonard had a rough time after the drunken blowjob incident.”

“Dammit. Kim, if we had kept quiet, we could have had dozens of threesomes with Leonard already.”

“As if.” Penny scoffed. “Coincidentally, that thought alone more or less made me decide to make things work with Leonard.”

“We know. Why do you think we mention it that often.” Cheryl grinned.

“Yeah, right. As if you wouldn't act on it if me and him really broke up.”

“Of course we would.” Kim said.

“Back up a little. Why would you only have threesomes with him? That's a peculiar notion. I personally would move heaven and earth not to have to share him with anyone.”

“Well, during some evenings when Kim's at my place or I'm at hers and we have too much wine, we like to speculate about things. And whenever the topic has come to your boyfriend, we always came to the conclusion that it would be unfair for one of us to wait while the other is getting pleasured. So the easiest way to remedy that was the threesome.” Cheryl explained, while Kim nodded enthusiastically, making Penny laugh.

“Do you think he could handle you both on a regular basis?” Penny asked with a grin.

“Oh, that rubber band idea of yours plays a big role.”

“Have you ever tried to use one on the guys that you slept with?” Penny wanted to know.

“Yes, once on one of them.” Cheryl admitted. “After ten minutes, he begged me to take it off because he felt like he was exploding. And who wants to have sex with someone who is whining instead of moaning like he should be doing. The others didn't want to.”

“The guys I was with didn't want to at all. They saw it as an insult to their masculinity and performance in bed. Not that the performance was as satisfactory as Leonard's was in those videos.” Kim piped in, causing more laughs from Penny.

“One day you have to get Leonard to explain how he manages to bear the rubber band for an hour.” Cheryl added.

“Girls, this is becoming the twilight zone. Two very experienced girls like you want advice from a short, bespectacled and asthmatic nerd on how to have great sex.” Penny laughed.

“No, that's not what it looks like.” Cheryl denied. “It's... um... we have... Kim, help?”

“I got nothing.” Kim sighed.

“Fine, yes, we would like to know his secret.” Cheryl admitted as the ringing sound of Penny's Skype program interrupted them.

“Maybe you'll get the chance now.” Penny said when she saw who was calling. “Hey sweetie.” she greeted Leonard when his face appeared on the screen.

“Hey Penny, I have some bad news.” Leonard said as soon as the connection was established.

“Why, what's wrong?” she asked, the concern apparent in her voice.

“I'm still at work. I know that you wanted to have dinner with us. But if you want, the guys are home, Raj took Sheldon.” he explained.

“Man, I thought you or someone else had been hurt. Working overtime?”

“Kind of. The nitrogen laser for the lab was delivered today but I guess someone didn't notice that it has a vastly increased power draw. Long story short, the wiring in my lab couldn't take the strain, plus for some reason the breakers didn't kick in and that led to a little cable fire behind the walls.”

“Oh my god, are you alright?”

“Yes, I'm fine. I caught it quickly and was able to douse it. But thanks to that, my lab is unusable now and I have to move to another. And since I'm in the middle of an important anti-proton decay experiment, I need to move my equipment into the new one today so I can continue the experiment tomorrow.”

“Are you doing that alone?” Penny asked.

“No, Frank is helping me.” Leonard replied and Penny saw the hulking figure of Frank walk around in the background, apparently picking up a piece of equipment that looked as big as Leonard.

“Hey Frank!” Penny shouted.

“Hello Penny.” Frank greeted her, setting the piece of equipment he was holding down again.

“How is Alice? She must be what, eight months along now?”

“Yes. And she is very cranky. Her mood swings are a thing to behold though. Doesn't want me around but hates me being away.” Frank replied and returned to his work.

“Holy crap, that is a deep voice.” Cheryl piped in from beside Penny.

“Penny, who's there with you?” Leonard asked.

“Cheryl and Kim are here, we have an impromptu girls night.”

“Hey girls.” Leonard greeted them, as both women moved to the left and right of Penny, into the frame of the camera. “I was about to suggest that you go to the guys and have dinner with them but since you have company, that's moot.”

“Leonard, Kim and Cheryl wanted to know how you manage to keep the rubber band around your cock for an hour.” Penny grinned.

“Penny!” both women shout-whispered simultaneously with an exasperated voice.

“If they wait for me to come home and are willing to get naked, I can show them how well it works.”

“Leonard!” Penny shouted.

“What? You still have your period, so you're unavailable. I need some Penny replacements to get my fix.” he grinned, letting her know that he wasn't serious.

“Sweetie.” Penny growled playfully and glared at the screen. “If you keep talking like this, I'll order Frank to tie you to your laser and set it to full power.”

“Relax, I'm kidding. But to answer their question, I think about how great it feels to give you as much pleasure as possible. And after using it numerous times already, I got accustomed to it.” Leonard said calmly.

“Seriously Penny, this is the shy, awkward nerd you are dating?” Cheryl asked.

“In all fairness, I'm sweating the sweat of fear into my shirt while having this talk.” Leonard admitted. “But I have to get back to work now, can't make Frank do it all alone. I don't know when I'm done, I'll probably will go directly to my place, especially since you have company.”

“Okay, sweetie. But we're going to have a talk about you offering those two a rubber band night.” Penny admonished.

“If you decide to punish me, then gladly.” Leonard grinned, winked and signed off.

Penny sunk back into her couch and groaned while the other two put some distance between them, giggling all the way. It was one thing to brag about Leonard but having him pile on like that took that to whole new level. It made Penny's worry about her friends and their restraint even worse.

“I reiterate my intention. If you and Leonard ever break up, I will tie him to my bed and ride him for hours every day.” Cheryl said with an evil grin, making Penny glare at her.

“And I will be there, switching places with her when she is done.” Kim piped in, causing Penny's head to snap around and glare at her other friend.

“Yeah yeah you two, as if that will ever happen.” Penny grinned and drank more of her wine.

But since it was the three of them together, the drinks didn't stay only wine. Sooner than she thought, Penny was breaking out the bottle of tequila she had in the cupboard over the fridge. She knew that the evening would probably end with her spilling yet more secrets about her love life but she still clinked her glasses with the others and downed the first shot.

* * *

“Believe it or not, your Skype call wasn't the first interruption. While I was sitting shirtless on Leonard's lap with my nipple in his mouth, my parents called. And since I had them on auto-accept as well, the first thing they saw was their daughter on her boyfriends lap in the throes of foreplay pleasure.” Penny told them to the laughter of the other two.

“Oh my god, I would so die of embarrassment, if my parents caught me having sex with a guy.” Cheryl laughed.

“And get this, while I was scrambling for my shirt, Leonard sits there, calm as a millpond, chatting with my parents about how they would have seen a lot more if they had called ten minutes later.”

“Strange. You always said that he was nervous, I was under the impression that he would freak in a situation like this.” Kim piped in.

“Me too.” Penny agreed. “But since I met him, he has become a lot more confident around others. The Leonard I first met would have never given you two a return like he had on Skype before.”

“That comes from knowing that he can please his woman.” Cheryl grinned. “It's a real confidence booster in guys. You got anymore tequila?”

“Yeah, but I don't want to drink anymore. I don't want to wake up with another hangover tomorrow.” Penny said and took a sip of the juice she had gotten a few minutes ago.

“Spoilsport.” Kim smiled.

“By the way, why did your parents want to talk to Leonard?” Cheryl asked.

“They invited him to accompany me to my mother's birthday.” Penny answered.

“Aw, that's so sweet. Your parents must really like him.” Kim said.

“Yeah. But I don't know if I can go. I did something really bad last week.” Penny sighed.

“What did you do?”

“I ran into Kurt and I...” Penny started.

“Slept with him?” Cheryl guessed.

“What? No! He started apologizing to me and invited me for a coffee and we started talking and...”

“And what?” Kim inquired.

“He... uh... managed to get me to pay his fine.”

“What fine?”

“He peed on a cop car when drunk. He was sentenced to paying eighteen-hundred dollars.”

“Wait a minute.” Cheryl stopped her. “You paid an almost two thousand dollar fine for your ex-boyfriend who cheated on you, threatened you and even attacked you?”

“I know, alright!” Penny shouted exasperated. “I have no idea how he did that but we talked and he acted all nice and suddenly I had given him the money. And now, every time I contact him to be paid back, he wants me to come over to get it. But I don't want to go over to his place.”

“Why not send the police?” Kim asked.

“Because we don't have a contract. Knowing Kurt, he would just lie about having received the money.”

“Well, then I can't help you. Will you tell Leonard about this?” Cheryl inquired.

“No, this is my problem to fix. Also, I know how this will look like to him, me giving my ex a huge amount of money.”

“And you think it would be better to keep it a secret? It will be even worse if he finds out later on his own.” Cheryl advised.

“Ugh, I really don't know what to do. Knowing Leonard he'd want to remedy the situation but that would put him at odds with Kurt. I don't want Leonard to get hurt.”

“You'll figure it out. Okay, I should leave now, my shift tomorrow begins at ten.” Cheryl said and got up, swaying lightly due to her inebriation. “You two can continue the evening, if you want.”

“No, I better go with you, to make sure you get home okay.” Kim said and got up as well. “I may have the dinner shift and Penny even the day off but that doesn't mean we have to continue deep into the night just because we can.”

“Okay.” Cheryl admitted and took out her phone to call a cab. “Cab will be here in two minutes already, they had one on a return route.”

“Bye girls.” Penny said and hugged both of them.

After they had said their goodbyes and left, Penny went back to the couch to clean up the glasses and bottles. She looked at her watch to find the time approaching midnight and cursed. She had thought about asking Leonard to come over so she could spend the night in his arms but he would probably be in bed already.

With a sigh, she finished cleaning and went into the bathroom to clean herself up. While brushing her teeth, she looked thoughtfully at her reflection in the mirror, wondering how she could get her money back from her ex. Money had been an issue for her every since she moved into this apartment and giving a large amount of her reserves to Kurt had made the situation even worse.

Another probably big expense was already on its way, since her car had broken down a few days ago and was currently sitting in the shop, waiting to be fixed. If the repair turned out to be expensive, she really didn't know what to do. She had already allocated the money for the next month's rent, water and energy costs but not much more. Cable, food and other expenses were something she would have to juggle. She headed into her bedroom and changed into her sleeping attire, short and tight shorts and a loose tank top, and got into bed.

After turning out the lights, she fell into another restless sleep, as it usually happened when Leonard wasn't next to her.

* * *

When Penny woke up, it was still dark out and she wanted to do nothing but fall back asleep but her bladder had other ideas. The glowing numbers on her alarm clock glared the time at her, showing a single digit that was the same as the number of fingers on one hand. As she made her way into the bathroom, she felt strangely comfortable, the bed had been warmer and more inviting than when she got in.

After finishing her ablutions, she took her toothbrush glass and filled it with water, downing it in four swigs to prevent any probably hangover, no matter how the intensity. She didn't want to spend another day off in bed with a headache. When she returned to the bedroom, she saw the reason for the comfortable feeling she had.

Lying on his side of the bed was Leonard, sleeping soundly. She had no idea when he got there but she didn't care because all she saw was her boyfriend in her bed. She hurried back into it and wrapped her arms around him before placing her left leg over his waist. She realized that to an outside observer it looked as if she was clinging to him but she didn't care. She wanted as much of her body as possible to touch his. With a smile on her face, she fell asleep again.

“Penny, wake up.” a familiar voice roused her from her dream a few hours later, a dream which she really didn't want to end right now, not before the big finish was reached.

“I don't want to, I want you to pound me some more.” she mumbled, still in a sort of limbo between dream and reality.

“Honey, I will pound you as much as you want as soon as mother nature doesn't prevent it but you really need to wake up now.” the voice urgently said, finally registering in her brain as coming from Leonard.

“Leonard?” she asked after waking up.

“Yes. Good morning.”

“Morning sweetie.” she replied and placed languid kisses to his lips.

“Penny please, I love it when you hug me like this but your leg is pressing on my bladder and I really have to pee.” Leonard pleaded, making Penny open her eyes fully.

She saw the way she was holding him, one arm under his neck, the other over his chest and her right leg over his waist. Both hands were on his ribs, holding him to her and her leg pressed him to the bed. The look in his eyes was one of a man who tried his utmost not to wet his pants.

“Sorry.” she said and let go of him.

He hurried out of the bed and into the bathroom and Penny laughed when she heard a loud groan of relief when he started to empty his bladder. When he hadn't flushed even after a minute, she wondered how long he had been holding it in while she clung to him like barnacle. Finally, she heard the toilet flush and her sweetie returned to the bedroom, looking at her as she lay on her back.

“What?” she asked him with a smile.

“Oh nothing. Just admiring your legs. Especially in these shorts.” he replied.

“Anything else you want to see?” she grinned.

“Yeah, actually. Turn around.” he ordered and she complied, wondering what he was going for. Sex was still off the table for another day due to mother nature. “Good, now lift your ass a bit. Just a few inches.”

She did as she was told and lifted her behind by pressing her stomach into he bed. After a few seconds of wondering, she heard the familiar click of a camera. She turned around with her mouth open in astonishment and watched as Leonard put his phone back onto the nightstand before climbing back into bed.

“What was that about?” she asked.

“Have you any idea how amazing your ass looks in these shorts? Every nuance is visible and by holding it up like you did, it made it even better looking.”

“Actually, I do know how it looks in these shorts. Why do you think I bought them?” she grinned.

“If you weren't inconvenienced right now, they would already be lying on the floor. And I'd be pounding you from behind like there was no tomorrow. In that exact position you just had.”

His words struck a cord with her and she felt heat pooling between her legs. Since she couldn't indulge that heat, she decided to simply kiss him. What she had intended as a soft kiss quickly became more heated when he shoved his tongue into her mouth, exploring every nook and cranny of her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer. She attempted to climb on top of him but he had other ideas. Grabbing her around her waist, he pushed her onto her back, rolling with her until his chest was on hers. One of his hands went between her legs and pressed down on the sensitive spot there.

“Leonard.” she moaned.

“Wow, you're really wet.” he grinned and kissed her again while slowly rubbing her.

His hand roamed skillfully over her covered flesh, along her folds and to her clit. Pressing his fingers on the sensitive nub, he rubbed it in a circling motion, applying more pressure to it. Penny's hips bucked against his hand, wanting even more pressure from it while she continued to moan into his mouth.

“Leonard, I want to feel your hand on my flesh.” she panted as he brought her closer and closer to her climax.

“No.” he stated forcefully and increased his speed even more until she couldn't take it anymore and climaxed with bucking hips and the orgasmic twitch that came with it.

“Why didn't you want to get under my shorts?” Penny asked after calming down.

“Because then I would have been unable to stop myself from pushing my fingers into you.”

“Oh. That would have been weird. And maybe gross. But it's great that I'm still so irresistible.” she grinned.

“Oh, that is certainly true.”

“By the way, not that I complain but why did you come here? When the girls left, I thought you were already asleep.”

“I couldn't sleep. And I needed a hug, so to speak.” he admitted.

“Why?”

“My current anti-proton decay experiment. So far I have done over twenty thousand data runs and not a single positive result. It's extremely frustrating. Add to that the accident in my lab and it amounted to a very bad day.”

“Aw, poor sweetie.” she said and hugged his body.

They stayed in this position for an hour until Leonard's phone rang with the alarm he set to wake him. Penny reluctantly let go of him and watched as he moved around her bedroom, putting on his robe and glasses. As they did every time they said goodbye like this, Leonard got to her side of the bed and bent down to let Penny grab him behind the head to pull him in for a passionate kiss.

“Bye Penny. See you later.”

“Bye. Have fun at work.”

“I'll try.”

* * *

Penny spent the morning in bed, reading magazines and even a few chapters of a novel on Leonard's kindle that she had borrowed from him again without asking. Finally getting up, she did her morning routine and wasted some time watching TV and surfing the net before having a somewhat bland lunch.

While laughing at Youtube videos, she again wondered how her life had changed. While dating Kurt, she had never had a problem with spending hours alone, doing random stuff but after meeting Leonard and especially since dating him, she found it hard to bear her time alone. It was worst on days where she had to work late because it usually meant she was home while Leonard was at work and vice versa.

“What the hell?” Penny asked the empty room when she saw an incoming email from Howard. Opening it up, she saw the tag line 'Vacation pictures from me' and despite her trepidation, the curiosity won over. She clicked on the mail and waited for her program to load the pictures. After they had finished, she started scrolling through them, getting more and more nauseous with every picture.

Howard stood there in various poses with a ridiculously small bathing suit. It was as tight as his regular clothes and left little to be imagined. Feeling the bile rise in her throat, she grabbed her laptop and headed into the hallway, hoping her sweetie was already at home.

“Hey.” she greeted him after knocking on the door and entering, finding both Leonard and Sheldon. Leonard was sitting on the couch reading, while Sheldon stood at the kitchen table, preparing tea for himself, the phone lying next to the tray.

“Hey.” Leonard greeted back.

“Can you help me? Howard sent me a creepy email and I really don't want to get any more from him.”

“Sure.” he said and accepted her laptop. After a few keystrokes through several menus and tabs, he handed it back to her.

“There you go. Now any e-mail from Wolowitz will go right into your spam folder.”

“Thanks.” she stated, relief in her voice. “I mean the e-mail doesn’t bother me as much as the vacation pictures of him in a bathing suit.”

“Yeah, I got the same one. And that’s not a bathing suit, it’s a tan line.” Leonard clarified and Penny tried to get the mental image of a naked Howard posing out of her head. While she attempted that, she watched as Sheldon called a number and listened in to what he was saying.

“Hello. This is Sheldon Cooper. I’m leaving a message for Barry Kripke. Barry, It was pleasant seeing you today in the cafeteria. I saw that you purchased the chef’s salad. Apparently, you did not know that the chef’s salad is kitchen trickery, to utilize scrap meat. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed it. I’m following up on our pending friendship, and I look forward to hearing from you regarding its status. Sheldon Cooper.”

“What’s up with Ichabod?” she asked Leonard after Sheldon had hung up.

“Oh he’s trying to make a new friend.” came the reply. “But unless he’s makes one out of wood like Gepetto, I don’t think it’s gonna happen.”

“Well, how did you guys become friends?”

“There was a flier on the bulletin board at the university. Roommate wanted. Whistlers need not apply.”

“And you moved in anyway?”

“I assumed he was joking. You’d be surprised how many particle physicists have a whimsical side.” he explained.

“Well, what about Howard and Raj, I mean how did you become friends with them?”

“I don’t know, how do carbon atoms form a benzene ring? Proximity and valence electrons.” Leonard said and Penny once again had no idea what that meant.

“Well yeah, sure. When you put it that way.” she said, earning herself a smile. “But it all worked out, right?”

“I suppose. I do miss whistling though.” he stated with a thoughtful expression. Penny couldn't really believe that Sheldon would ban whistling.

“Oh come on, really?” she asked him incredulous and as an answer, Leonard whistled a one-second tune.

“First warning.” Sheldon immediately warned, turning around from his sandwich.

“Wow, you weren't kidding. How messed up is that, not liking it if someone whistles?” Penny mused.

“That's Sheldon for you. Batcrap crazy.”

“I am not crazy. My mother had me tested.” Sheldon threw in from the kitchen area.

“With surprisingly good hearing.” Leonard continued.

“Well, that's my cue to leave. Thank you so much for the help, Leonard.” Penny said and gave him a kiss on the cheek, something she had done often enough for Sheldon to not even notice it as anything else than a sign of gratitude.

She headed back into her apartment and sat back down on her couch. She went back to the page she had bookmarked a few days ago, the one with all those amazing shoes. Unfortunately, the fact that her ex had a large amount of her available money made any purchases impossible without falling into debt.

For two hours she looked at shoes, an activity every man would shake his head at while most women she knew would join her. She sighed at the sight of a particularly beautiful pair of shoes and wondered if they were worth a year without cable. Probably not. Her sightseeing was interrupted by a knocking on her door.

“Who is it?” she called out.

“It's Leonard.” came the reply from outside.

“Come in, it's open.”

“Can you open it? I kinda have my hands full.”

Curious, she went to the door and opened it, revealing her sweetie standing in the hallway, overnight bag in one hand, big take-out bag in the other. She smiled at him, a gesture he returned, and let him inside where he placed the food on the table and the other bag next to the couch.

“Leonard, what are you doing?”

“It's dinner time, I brought food. Can't you connect the dots?” he grinned.

“I get the food. What about the bag?” she asked with a smile.

“I got Sheldon to banish me for the evening and night. I was kinda hoping you would offer me a place to stay.”

“Even without the possibility of sex?”

“If I have the choice of spending a night alone in my bed or with you in my arms in yours, there isn't really a choice to make.”

“That's so sweet.” she gushed. “Of course you can stay here.”

“Good.” he smiled and went into her kitchen to get plates and forks. While he was busy setting the table, she grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“By the way, how did you get Sheldon to banish you this time?”

“Well, he said, and I quote “Leonard, if you don't stop whistling you can spend another night on Penny's uncomfortable couch”. A whistling rendition of the jeopardy theme later, I was on the road to the Chinese restaurant to pick up the food.”

“Uh, you're a sneaky one, Doctor Hofstadter.” Penny grinned.

“I know. But I had to get away from him. His attempts to befriend Kripke take a huge toll on my sanity. He made me fill out a questionnaire.”

“A what?”

“He gave me several pages of paper with questions to answer. I skipped most of them, simply answered in a pattern.”

“What pattern?”

“Oh, A B B A C and repeat. Was easy to do since I used that abbreviation in an experiment of mine before.” he explained.

“What does it stand for?”

“Attribute Based Broad Access Control. Was a joint project with the computer science lab.”

“Does he really think he will make a friend this way?”

“Apparently. It's Sheldon. For him, anything can be boiled down to experiments and statistics.”

“Okay, he is crazy. But hey, you're always welcome to spend the night at my place.” Penny said and clinked her glass with Leonard. They dug into their food and after she managed to rope him into watching Sex and the City, they went to her bed, his body once again enveloping hers. She never lost her smile during the night.

* * *

After a quiet breakfast and Leonard's departure for work, Penny spent her morning cleaning her apartment and doing some laundry before heading to work. And while pausing between waiting on tables, she saw one of her friends closing in on her. It wouldn't be a regular shift if that didn't happen.

“Hey Cheryl.” Penny greeted her friend before she could get a word out.

“Penny. I thought you had your period this week.” Cheryl wondered.

“What the hell? First, yes I do have it and second, why do you ask me such a thing.”

“I'm wondering how you it's possible that you are so chipper today. Usually we only see you like that if you had a hot night or morning with Leonard. And during this week you have been in a comparatively good mood considering your condition. I remember that one week where you have almost bitten some guests head off.”

“Well, he was in my bed last night. But no, we didn't have any form of sex. Alt least night, the night before he helped me with his hand. And I'm just glad he was there, I slept great with him behind and his arms around me.”

“Wow. You're satisfied even without sex. Penny, I love you being my friend but the gloves are off. If you let Leonard go, you will never ever get him back.” Cheryl stated, poking out her tongue. “And I have Kim to help me keep you away from him.”

“Cheryl, let me say this with all sincerity. I will never, ever let Leonard go. He has become the most important part of my life and he has even surpassed my parents in that regard. Barring him cheating on me, there will be nothing he can do to drive me away. I will always try to make things work.” Penny said, glaring at her friend who, to her surprise, started to laugh.

“That was so well said. I'm really happy for you. Be sure to tell him that.”

“Wait, so this speech about me never getting him back was just a ruse?”

“Oh no, I meant every word. But it's great to see you so committed to a guy.”

“Girl, you scare me sometimes.” Penny said, shaking her head and going back to work.

After finishing her shift and returning home, Penny took her usual shower and got dressed in some jeans and a violet tank top that also worked as a bra thanks to its tightness and a pink shirt. While wondering if Leonard was already at home, a distinct knocking and name combination announced the arrival of the bothering part of her neighbors.

“Hello Sheldon.” she greeted him.

“Hi. This is for you.” the lanky physicist replied and gave her a few papers.

“What is this?”

“It’s a questionnaire I devised. I’m having some difficulty bonding with a colleague at work, so I’m doing a little research to better understand why my current friends like me.”

“Yes. Well, that is a good question. But is this really the best way to figure it out?”

“Yeah, I agree, the social sciences are largely hokum. But, short of putting electrodes in your brain and monitoring your response to my companionship, this is the best I can do.”

“Okay, question 1. Rank the following aspects of Sheldon Cooper in order of appeal. Intelligence. Ruthless attention to hygiene. Playfulness. Java applet writing?” she read incredulous. None of those were really something she found appealing when it came to him but he was neither playful nor did she know what Java applet writing had to do with friendship.

“I know, I may have started off with a fairly obvious one. You did an aspect of my most appealing trait, playfulness. Why don’t you just go ahead and write that on number 1. I’m afraid you’re on your own for the rest. It should take you no more than 3 hours.”

'What? Three hours?' “Wait! How many questions are on this thing?”

“Only 211. Don’t worry, in deference to you, I’ve kept them on a high school graduate reading level.” he explained in his usual condescending manner.

“Thanks pal.” she said sarcastically.

“You got it, buddy.” came from him, again not understanding her sarcasm.

“Sheldon honey, did you ever consider making friends by being, I don’t know, pleasant?” she asked hopeful.

“Well that’s certainly a thought-provoking hypothesis. May I suggest it as the topic for your essay.” he pointed to the last page with a large blank space.

“Seriously, you expect me to do this?”

“Yes. Is it too much to ask that my so-called friends take a few hours of their day to help me?”

“Fine.” Penny huffed and Sheldon turned to leave but hesitated.

“Penny, did you get your couch upholstered?” Sheldon asked her.

“What?”

“I noticed that Leonard didn't walk or act different after returning from your apartment this morning. Usually, when I punish one of his transgressions by making him sleep on your couch while pining for you, he walks different, a habit I usually connect with the rather unpleasant feeling of sleeping on an uncomfortable couch like yours.”

“Well Sheldon, you're a smart guy. What do you think?” Penny asked innocently, wondering if he'd finally figure out that Leonard spends his nights in her bed and never on her couch. Except that one night when they fell asleep on it after particularly long, rough and satisfying sex.

“Hm, I guess the frequent use of your couch has hardened his body in a way that got him used to it.” Sheldon said and headed back to his apartment, leaving Penny standing with her head shaking in disbelief.

For the next thirty minutes, Penny went through the questionnaire, answering the questions in the shortest way possible. She didn't want to do it but she knew Sheldon wouldn't stop bugging her until she had done it. When she got the the multiple choice part, she decided to ask an expert for help.

**Did you get in trouble with Sheldon for answering the multiple choice questions in that pattern of yours?** she texted her boyfriend. His reply came quickly.

**A little. Not much he can do about it. Why?**

**I just wondered because I just reached the multiple choice part**

**Do what I did, use a pattern that suits you or simply mark random things**

**I take the Classic Rock pattern :)**

**What?**

**AC/DC AC/DC AC/DC ^^**

**Nice ;) Listen, Sheldon wants me to drive him to the book store. Are you coming over for dinner later? We'll get Chinese food**

**Of course. Bye sweetie :-x**

She kept doing the questionnaire, hoping to finish it before dinner time arrived and using her Classic Rock pattern to be done quickly with multiple choice part until she reached the blank space where she was supposed to put an essay. After thinking about if for a while, she simply drew a hand with its middle finger pointed upwards as a sign what she felt about Sheldon making her do this.

**On my way back. Had to drag Sheldon away from the book store when he tried to befriend a little girl. Looked like something you would see on Dateline**

Penny laughed when she read Leonard's text. She could just imagine Sheldon sitting down next to a little girl, talking to her about a book she was reading and offering her to be her friend. Unfortunately for him, while he may see it as nothing more than a genuine offer of friendship, others saw such things as something way worse.

**Hurry up, I miss you :) Knock when you are here**

**Will do :-x**

He must have been in the building already because he knocked on her door only a minute later and entered without waiting. He smiled at her and held up the take-out bags.

“Come on. Raj and Howard are on their way and Sheldon is rock climbing with his new friend.”

“Say what? Rock climbing? Sheldon? Those are three words I thought I never hear together.” she said and walked out with him.

“Yeah, he tried to find an interest they share and after a little help from Howard, he got to the least objectionable activity. Which strangely enough was rock climbing.”

They entered 4A and for Penny, it was the first time since their Sheldon-free week that she was alone with Leonard while standing in their apartment. After Leonard put the take-out bag on the table, Penny simply grabbed him, turned him around and smashed her lips to his, starting to moan as soon as his tongue started reacting to hers.

Before the kiss could go any further, they had to separate when they heard the trampling of feet on the stairs, announcing the arrival of Raj and Howard who also entered the apartment without knocking. Penny found that a bit strange but the guys were probably good enough friends to allow them that and they were expected.

Leonard simply turned to them and started whistling the tune to Sweet Georgia Brown and the other two immediately joined in. Penny watched them with a grin as they whistled and sat down on the wooden chair, knowing that Leonard would soon be sitting next to her.

“What was that about?” she asked after they had finished whistling.

“Well, I miss whistling and you saw what happens when I do it with Sheldon around.” Leonard replied and passed out the food and the plastic cutlery.

“By the way, since when does Sheldon know how to climb rocks?” Penny asked.

“He did it the same way he learned swimming. Online.” Leonard replied.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. He believes he can learn anything if he hasn't any inclination towards actually doing it outside.”

“That's so screwed. I mean, when I was a child, we had to do those breaststrokes and other swim techniques on the floor to learn them but we had to swim in actual water.” Penny said.

“It's the same for all of us. But Sheldon told me he had no interest to go into actual water.” Leonard replied.

“That whackadoodle has way too many quirks to be considered not crazy. I mean seriously, I can understand not wanting to go into water. But fear of hamsters? Fear of birds? Not liking whistling?” Penny ranted.

“I’m sorry. Can we please just do it one more time?” Leonard suddenly shouted. Howard counted down and the three guys started whistling another round of Sweet Georgia Brown again, all the while Penny tried her utmost not to laugh. “It’s a little thing but you really do miss it.” he added after they had finished. Before Penny could comment on it, the door opened.

“Hello, everyone. I brought my new friend, Barry Kripke, home for dinner.” Sheldon stated upon entering, a weird looking guy behind him, a fact to which the guys collectively sighed about.

“Hewo to you, too.” the guest, Barry, greeted them back.

“How was rock climbing?” Leonard asked.

“He passed out. Just hung there like a big sawami.” came Kripke's reply as he sat down in Sheldon's spot.

“D-d-d! That’s where I sit.” Sheldon pointed out.

“Ooh, you have a special spot. What kind of wacko awe you?” Barry asked and Penny kept quite because the answer would be very long.

“How much time you got?” came from Howard, taking the words out of her mouth.

“Want some Chinese food?” Leonard asked Barry after he stood back up.

“Tewific. Got any dental fwoss?”

“In the bathroom.”

“Be right back. I gotta fwoss the Indian food out of my teeth if I’m gonna eat Chinese.” Barry stated and left the living room.

“What's wrong with his speech?” Penny asked the guys.

“He has rhotacism. He can't spell the letters R or L and they come out as W.” Leonard explained.

“Sheldon, are you okay?” she asked the lanky physicist.

“Oh yes, I pass out all the time. But, it was worth it. I’ve made substantial progress in bonding with Kripke, which brings me to an awkward moment.” Sheldon explained. “Maintaining five friendships promises to be a Herculean task. So, I’m going to have to let one of you go.”

“Me, me. Let it be me.” Howard muttered, making Penny smile and wonder why he didn't just leave.

“Leonard, you are my roommate, my source of transportation and you help me fold my sheets when they come out of the dryer. You are safe.” Sheldon started and she could see Leonard's face fall a bit in disappointed.

“Can I whistle?” her boyfriend asked his roommate.

“Don’t be silly.” Sheldon answered and turned to Howard. “Howard, you do not have a PhD, your cologne is an assault on the senses and you’re not available for video games during the Jewish high holidays.”

“Guilty as charged. I’m out.” Howard said happily.

“No. You, too, are safe.”

“Oh come on. What do I have to do?” Howard complained.

“Okay. You know what? I see where this is going. I’m not one of you guys. I’m not a scientist. So just…” Penny piped in but was interrupted by Sheldon.

“Penny, Penny, Penny. Everything you’re saying is true, but please allow me to continue.” Sheldon said and turned to the Indian. “Raj, you’re out. The good question, while you do provide a certain cultural diversity to an otherwise homogeneous group, your responses to the questionnaire were truly disturbing. How could you, for a moment, think that my favorite amino acid is Glutamine?”

“He had Lysine but changed it.” Leonard interjected.

“Yeah. Shoulda, woulda coulda, Raj.” Sheldon said as Barry returned from the bathroom, still flossing.

“I like to fwoss before I eat, so my gum pockets are open for new food.” he stated, standing next to Penny while continuing to pull the string between his teeth.

“Eww.” Penny noised and the sound got her his attention.

“Hewo. How did I walk past you? I’m Bawy.” he introduced herself.

“Penny.”

“Yeah, it’s not a vewy hot name. I’m gonna call your Woxanne. Ooh, pot stickers.” Barry told her, causing Penny to wonder how anyone could be that creepy. Even creepier than Howard.

“Suddenly I’m looking pretty good, huh?” Howard whisper-sung to her as he walked past her towards the kitchen, causing her to laugh.

“So uh, Kripke, I was wondering if there’s any chance you could get me some time on the open science grid computer.” Sheldon asked, when Barry had settled himself on the floor between Leonard and Sheldon.

“No.” Barry simply stated.

“No? But we’re friends!” Sheldon tried to reason.

“I’m sowy. No, my fwiend?” Barry stated again.

“I’m confused. I was given an understanding that you allow your friends time on the machine?”

“No, that’s wong. There’s an official schedule. I have no contwol over it.”

“Oh. This entire endeavor seems to have been an exercise in futility. Raj, you’re back in.” Sheldon said and took the tray of food from Barry, handing it back to Raj. “He likes monkeys.”

“So what, you awe not my fwiend anymowe?” Barry asked.

“Right. You're continued presence in this apartment is no longer welcome.”

“Fine by me. The Stwipclub across my place has a nice buffet.” Barry said and got up before turning to Penny. “You wanna join me? I bet you look gweat dancing naked against a pole.”

“You're right, I do look great dancing naked, with or without a pole. But you most certainly won't see me doing that.” Penny said before throwing her plastic knife at him. Barry simply grinned and left, causing the entire group breath a sigh of relief.

“So, is there someone who gets to see you dancing naked with or without a pole?” Howard asked, the mix of creepiness and desire evident in his voice.

“Maybe.” she grinned.

“Is this someone present in this room?” Howard continued.

“Maybe.” she grinned even wider, turning her head slightly to Leonard and giving him a wink that neither Raj nor Howard saw due to her position while Sheldon simply ignored her. Leonard most certainly didn't ignore it if the widening of his eyes was an indicator.

“Oh, it's so me.” Howard giddily said into his food, causing Penny to roll her eyes. “I'll call you when my mother is away and you can come to my house to dance. I'll even get a pole.”

“In your dreams Howard.”

“Actually, in my dreams you're not just dancing, in my dreams you are...” he started to say but Penny interrupted him by throwing her plastic fork at him, causing him to shut up.

Without being asked for or even looking up, Leonard took one of the replacement plastic cutlery and handed her a new set. It was once again a sign of how in sync they had become. The entire conversion right now had given her an idea though. Although she never really had thought about it, doing a little dance for Leonard as part of their foreplay would be an idea for a later date.

Tonight wouldn't be it though, since mother nature still kept her benched, so to speak, for another night. But as soon as the next day arrived, sex would again be possible. And Cheryl had been right, this week she had been less cranky and less horny than other period episodes before. She still hated it when she couldn't have sex for a week but since the one week where she almost crawled out of her skin, Leonard had begun to allay her needs by bringing her to orgasm at least twice during a week like this, usually using his hands while she reciprocated his need at the end of her period so he wouldn't explode after a minute when they began having sex again.

They finished their meal in idle conversation, Penny sometimes having to keep quiet when the topic strayed into something scientific. She usually tried to steer it back to something she could contribute to but this time she decided to hold back and simply listen to them arguing. She didn't really understand much, but it was great to see them so passionate, especially Leonard.

“Well, I'm off, thanks for dinner.” Penny stated and got up, moving toward the door.

“Want me to come over later so you can dance for me?” Howard asked her with a leer.

“If you set one foot into my apartment, I will cut off your balls. With a very rusty and blunt knife.” Penny threatened and left, leaving a dumbstruck Howard sitting on the couch. And a brightly smiling Leonard on his armchair.

She went into her apartment and directly into the bathroom to take a shower. After standing under the spray of water for twenty minutes, she dried herself off and got into her pajamas before putting her robe over her body. She sat down on her couch, making herself comfortable to watch some more TV, getting as much as she could out of her cable as long as it was still available.

She still thought hard about the money Kurt owed her but refused to pay back if she didn't come to his apartment to get it herself. Of course that was the last thing she wanted to do, remembering his actions in the grocery store. While she didn't think he would actually kill her, a violation would possibly not out of the question.

Settling back into the couch, she found a movie she liked and shut off her brain, trying to enjoy a little suspense of belief. This was another thing that was new in her life. Before meeting Leonard and his friends, she would have never watched a movie like the X-Men alone.

A few minutes after the movie had ended, her apartment door opened to reveal her sweetie entering her place. He walked towards her and bent down to place a sweet kiss on her lips before sitting down next to her.

“What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” she asked with a smile.

“Oh, the guys have gone home, Sheldon is in bed and I missed you.” he replied.

“Aw, that's sweet.”

“And I wanted to ask you something.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“Can you take a week off in two weeks?” he asked her.

“I don't know, why?”

“Well, your mother's birthday is coming up and I thought you wanted to go.”

“I do, but I don't think I can't afford it. I never told you but my car broke down a few days ago and it's currently in the shop. I don't know yet what it will cost but it surely won't be cheap.”

“Oh, that's too bad. But I have an idea about that. Can you still try to get a week off?”

“Yeah, I can. I can ask my manager to shuffle the shifts around. I might have to work double shifts for a few days but at least I won't lose hours.”

“Okay, good.” he smiled.

“Was that all?”

“No, I had another question.”

“Which is?”

“Were you serious about the dancing thing?”

“Well, I did say maybe. But yeah, I would do a little dance for you.” she grinned.

“Really?”

“Not tonight.”

“Why?” he asked with a playful pout.

“Because we can't have sex. When I dance for you, I want you to get hard and big so I can sink down on you to ride you like a bull at a rodeo.”

“That's... something to look forward to.” he said, getting a little flustered, even after more than a year of knowing what kind of wildcat Penny could be in bed.

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing. It's just the thought of you dancing naked around me is a picture I have a very hard time to lose right now.”

“Why would you want to lose it?” she asked in a sultry voice, leaning closer to him.

“Because right now I want to grab you and take you hard until you scream my name in pleasure.”

“Good to know. Only one more day though.”

“Yeah.”

“Hm, you want your monthly blowjob now?” she asked innocently.

“Wow, that sounded so sexy.” he replied sarcastically.

“Hey, you know what I meant.”

“I know. But that still sounded like we have been married for a decade and my birthday has rolled around.” he laughed and Penny joined in.

The reason for her question was the habit she had gotten into since the infamous week that Cheryl had mentioned. Back then she had given him a blowjob to enable him to pleasure her longer the next day, something he hadn't disappointed with, giving her a very long and hard pounding. Since then, she had started to give him more blowjobs, usually a day before the end of her period, something Leonard was very in favor of.

“Do you want it or not?” she asked.

“Of course. But I don't want you to feel obligated to do it.”

“Sweetie, it might be hard for you to hear but I do it more for me than for you.”

“You are? How is giving me blowjobs helping you?”

“Well, for starters, you last longer when we do have sex again and I gladly give you a blowjob knowing that I will scream your name in orgasmic bliss half a dozen times a day or two later.”

“Well, then I guess I'm okay with it.” he grinned.

“Really, you guess?”

“Sure.” he replied, the grin still on his face, both arousing and infuriating her.

“Come with me. I will blow your mind, literally. Lets see how long I can keep you on the edge before I let you come.” she said and pulled him into her bedroom.

That night would hold a special place in his memory because for the first time, Penny held him on the edge for over an hour before making him beg to finally let him release. They slept soundly in each others arms, basking in the knowledge that in less than a day they would finally be able to have mind-blowing sex again.

* * *

**And done with this one. Hopefully it's a good lead in for the next. Still, I hope you enjoyed it ^^**

**Review please :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**So, I finally managed to finish this one. It's Chapter 25, a milestone for me.**

**First of all, a warning: This chapter is looooooong. After writing and writing, it ended up with more than 33000 words, so I hope you can make it without falling asleep while reading it ^^**

**It also contains more sexy times than the others, you have been warned.**

**Please take your time reviewing this one, since I put a lot of effort into it :) If you don't, I will take a very long break and have those two split up *insert evil laugh here* ;)**

**Enjoy :)**

** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going. **

**Disclaimer 2: Again, a big thank you to TerribleWaitress for letting me use her characters Meryl, Bridget and Scott that she created. You're the greatest :) But the other relatives are my idea ^^**

* * *

"I'm sorry Miss, your credit card was rejected." the pudgy woman in the mechanics office told her.

"Can you try it again?" Penny asked hopefully.

"I tried it three times already, it was rejected every time."

"Okay, then let me run to the bank real quick." Penny said with a sigh and took her overcharged credit card back.

She walked the half mile to the bank and wrote her information on the piece of paper before handing it to the bank teller. The woman counted the money and handed it out to her. Penny felt nervous carrying twelve hundred dollars in cash with her. Another pang of regret was the fact that she now had no money to pay her bills for the month, the rent that had been due for a few days now impossible to pay.

She had deliberately waited with paying her bills to wait for the car repair to finish. Now she had to find a way to placate her land lord until she can find a way to get Kurt to pay her back without her having to go to him. These thoughts continued when she entered the repair shop office again and paid her bill.

“Thank you for your business. Have a nice day.” the office secretary said, making Penny wonder if that was supposed to be genuine or sarcastic.

After driving the way back to her apartment block, she parked the car and entered the building. When she passed the first floor, she saw the door to 1A open and the back of her land lord showing the apartment to some potential renters. Not wanting to be caught, she quickly and quietly tiptoed across the landing and up the stairs to the next floor before starting to run.  When she rounded the last corner to her own floor, she saw Sheldon opening toward his door, sucking on a red vine and holding his mail.

“Ooh, ooh, shut the door, shut the door.” she implored and ran past him into his apartment.

“Why?” he asked, not unreasonably.

“Just do it!” she ordered and Sheldon did as he was told only for her to find herself alone in the apartment, Sheldon having shut the door while still outside. “Get inside and shut the door.” she told him after opening the door again.

“Well, you didn’t specify.” he complained and entered, allowing her to shut the door again.

“Is Leonard around?” she asked, wanting to see him.

“He went to the movies without me. It was the only option.” Sheldon replied and Penny remembered that he told her they would do this. She put her ear to the door and listened for the signs of someone coming up the stairs, fearing to face her land lord. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand which social situation this is. Could you give me some guidance as to how to proceed?” Sheldon asked her.

“The building manager’s showing an apartment downstairs, and I haven’t paid my rent.” she answered him.

“Oh, I see. Penny, I’m not sure I’m comfortable harboring a fugitive from the 2311 North Los Robles Corporation.”

“It’s no big deal. I’m just a little behind on my bills because my car broke down.” she explained.

“If you recall, I pointed out the check engine light to you several months ago.”

“Well the check engine light is fine. It’s still blinking away. It’s the stupid engine that stopped working. It cost me like twelve hundred dollars to fix it.” she said and sighed.

“You know, it occurs to me you could solve all your problems by obtaining more money.” Sheldon stated, making her look at him incredulous.

_'Well, duh.'_ “Yes, it occurs to me, too.” she said deadpan.

“Hang on a moment.” He moved to a shelf and took a round box, startling her by tearing off the lid and releasing some plastic snakes before grabbing inside it, producinga rather large amount of cash. “Here. Take some. Pay me back when you can.” he said and held the money to her.

“Wow, you got a lot of money in there.” she exclaimed in shock.

“That’s why it’s guarded by snakes. Take some.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Don’t you need money?”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“This is money I’m not using.”

“But what if you need it?” she asked him, still not sure if she could just take a large amount of money.

“My expenses account for 46.9% of my after-tax income. The rest is divvied up between a small savings account, this deceptive container of peanut brittle and the hollowed-out buttocks of a superhero action figure who shall remain nameless for his own protection. Or her own protection. Take some.” he finished his long speech, making Penny wonder exactly how much he was making at the university and if Leonard made the same amount.

“Really? I mean, are you sure?” she asked, hesitant to accept his offer.

“I see no large upcoming expenditures unless they develop an affordable technology to fuse my skeleton with adamantium like Wolverine.”

“Are they working on that?” she asked, glad to have watched that X-Men movie the other night, making her able to understand the reverence.

“I sincerely hope so.” came the reply.

“Okay. Well, thank you.” she said and grabbed several bills before thinking about what that would mean. “Oh, God, no, I can’t. Sheldon honey, I don’t want things to be weird between us.”

“Won’t it also be weird if I have to say hello to you every morning on my way to work and you’re living in a refrigerator box and washing your hair with rain water?” he asked, basically making the decision for her.

“I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.” she said after taking the money she had picked out earlier again.

“Of course you will. It’s impossible to pay me back sooner than you can. Assuming you subscribe to a linear understanding of time and causality.” he explained, and again she didn't really understand what he tried to say.

“I’m regretting this already.” she sighed and headed back to her apartment.

Looking at the time, she sighed and flopped down on the couch. She tried to turn on the TV but it didn't work. Frowning, she got up to turn on the lights to find them not working as well. Slightly panicked, she went to the kitchen and opened the tab to find it only sputtering a few drops that were left in the pipes.

“Dammit.” she cursed, realizing that the Department of Water and Power had made good on their threat and shut off her water and power until she paid her bills. With another curse, she went into her bedroom and grabbed her gym bag. Although she had no inkling of doing any sports right now, she might as well go there to take a shower.

Tomorrow she would use the money she took from Sheldon to pay her rent. But she realized that she should have taken more to also pay her energy bill.

* * *

After getting up the next day, she brushed her teeth again with bottled water and put on her robe. She went into Leonard's apartment, finding it empty since they were both at work, and made herself some coffee and took a shower, careful to hang up the towels in the right way. Feeling refreshed, she headed back to her place to put on her Cheesecake Factory uniform before getting down the stairs and into her repaired car.

After a brief stop at the bank to transfer the money she got from Sheldon to her land lord, she drove to work. Today would be a double shift day, since she had to work extra to get the free days Leonard had asked her for, while she still didn't know what exactly he had planned. She knew that he probably wanted to take her to her parent's but she couldn't accept a plane ticket from him.

“Hey Penny, how are you?” Kim's voice startled her as she stood in the employee's lounge, deep in thought.

“Hey Kim. To be honest, I have been better.” Penny replied.

“Why, what's wrong?”

“Got my car fixed yesterday and it used up all the money I had left. Now I don't have power or water at home because the power company cut me off and I had to borrow from my boyfriend's roommate to pay the rent.”

“Why didn't you ask Leonard?”

“I can't always ask him. It's embarrassing enough that I can't pay my bills or can't seem to go anywhere with my acting career but I don't want him to know that I can't handle money.”

“Considering how often you bought stuff that he got to take off you, I think he knows that.” Kim smiled.

“Maybe. But he doesn't know that I'm flat broke because I was stupid enough to let my ex-boyfriend persuade me to pay his fine so he wouldn't have to spend time in prison even though he deserves it and that my car was more expensive to repair than I thought.”

“Why haven't you told him?”

“What could I say to him? If I learned that he gave an obscene amount of money to an ex-girlfriend of his, I would be furious.”

“But won't it be even worse if he finds out on his own and realizes that you did it?”

“Didn't we have the same talk during our girls night at my place.” Penny asked with a smile.

“Yeah but the question is still valid.”

“Yeah, I should probably tell him, I just have to find a way to ease into it. Maybe after dinner. But come on, we have work to do.” Penny said and led Kim out of the lounge to start her long shift.

* * *

After walking her feet sore, her shift finally ended. She sat in the employee's lounge for ten minutes, her feet on a chair opposite her to sooth them before making her way to her car to drive home. Maybe she should get a bike to get to work. It might be difficult to ride with with her uniform on but at least it would save gas.

After parking, she walked into the building to find her boyfriend and his roommate standing at the mailboxes and talking.

“Hey, Penny. How was work?” Leonard greeted her.

“Great. I hope I’m a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory for my whole life.” she replied sarcastically.

“Was that sarcasm?” Sheldon asked, not understanding it as usual.

“No.” she answered, again sarcastically.

“Was that sarcasm?” Sheldon asked again, this time directed at Leonard.

“Yes.” Penny said exasperated and Leonard had to stop Sheldon from popping the same question again as she walked towards the stairs.

“Penny, you appear to have a package here.” Sheldon stopped her, holding the package she saw lying on the table below the mailboxes.

“Oh, thanks. This must be the beret I ordered.” she said excitedly before remembering that she didn't really have the money to order something like this, especially after borrowing money from Sheldon. “A couple of months ago. It was back-ordered.” she tried to justify herself. She wasn't lying when she told them that she ordered it a while ago, only that it had been two weeks, well into her financial shortage, instead of a few months.

“Did you know the beret is an example of piece of women’s fashion adapted from male military uniforms?” Sheldon asked her. “Another fascinating example is the epaulet.”

“He’s not lying, he does find that fascinating.” Leonard threw in.

“Okay, whatever. It’s not like I’m running up and down the streets just buying myself berets. I bought one, like, a month ago, and it was back-ordered, look, it finally arrived, all right?” Penny rambled, wondering why she was so riled up when Sheldon didn't even do anything.

“All right.” he conceded and somehow that made her even more angry.

“Oh, my God, would you just get off my case?” she shouted and ran up the stairs, not stopping until she was in her apartment.

She got naked and stepped into the tub. Just as she was about to open the tab, she remembered that she had currently no running water and cursed loudly. Without bothering to put a towel around her, she walked into the kitchen and grabbed another water bottle, taking it with her into the bathroom where she proceeded to wash herself with a wet loofah, hoping to feel a little cleaner after eight hours of waiting tables.

After she was done, she went back into her bedroom and dressed in a fresh pair of white panties and a plain white bra before putting on her jeans and a blue tank top. She returned to the living room and saw a message from Leonard on her phone.

**Howard and Raj arrived with the food**

She didn't waste anytime and headed outside again, entering the other apartment without knocking. She saw Raj and Howard on the couch and Leonard standing next to the table, busy with sorting out the food while Sheldon was nowhere to be seen. She quickly went into Leonard's armchair and exchanged a smile with him as she wiggled her ass into the seat as if to mark her territory.

“Here you go.” Leonard said to Howard and handed him one of the containers. “Oh, you owe me another two dollars. The price of mu-shu pork went up.”

“It’s getting tougher and tougher to be a bad Jew.” the engineer replied and threw two one-dollar bills on the table.

“Here you go, Penny. Shrimp with lobster sauce.” Leonard stated, handing her another container.

“Thank you, Leonard. What’s my share?” she asked him.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s my treat.” he replied to her, and she knew that he was aware of her financial situation after they had discussed it for a while a few days ago. But right now, his attitude made her more angry than grateful because it felt like he was rubbing her nose into her situation.

“No, really, how much?” she tried again.

“It’s, whatever. Ten, eleven dollars.” he said.

“Well, which is it, ten or eleven?”

“Fourteen fifty, but it’s no biggie, you’ll get the next one.” he told her again and waved his hand. She saw Raj whisper something into Howard's ear and the engineer laughed.

“What?” she asked them

“He was just wondering if he wore skintight jeans and a tank top if he’d get his shrimp lo mein for free.” Howard said.

“If you wore skintight jeans and a tank top, you would get to pay for the cleaning of the carpet because I'd throw up on it.” Leonard directed at Raj, making Penny smile at least a bit before her bad mood took over again.

“What are you saying? That I’m using my body to get dinner? That I’m some kind of Chinese food prostitute?” she yelled at Raj.

“Yeah, Raj, what are you saying?” Howard piled on the poor Indian who was unable to talk because of his mental problem.

“Cause let me tell you something, buddy, I pay my own way in this world, okay? I don’t rely on anybody!” she shouted and instead of saying something he couldn't get out anyway, Raj got a panicked look on his face and got up before running to the bathroom.“What was that about?”

“He has a nervous bladder when he’s stressed out. Kind of like a puppy.” Howard explained.

“Here, Leonard, ten, eleven, twelve, uh, fourteen dollars.” Penny said, giving Leonard her last money that she coincidentally had in her pants pocket.

“Oh, good. Dinner’s here.” Sheldon said upon coming into the living room.

“Yes, dinner’s here, and I’m having some. I’m having takeout food.” Penny explained her presence.

“Okay.” the lanky physicist simply stated.

“You’re damn right it’s okay. I’ve been having leftovers at the restaurant for like four days, and I wanted something different. So sue me.” Penny said exasperated, while in the back of her mind she wondered why she was so defensive.

“Forgive me, Penny, but that would be the very definition of a frivolous lawsuit.” Sheldon said, not understanding her sarcasm again.

“Sheldon, look, I will pay you back as soon as I can. You just have to give me more time.” she pleaded.

“Oh, wait, you lent her money?” Leonard asked surprised and Penny shut her eyes in embarrassment. She really didn't want him to find out.

“She needed money.” Sheldon explained to Leonard before turning to her. “You seem under pressure. Did I not lend you a sufficient amount? Because I can give you more.”

“Oh, you know, you would just love that, wouldn’t you? Yeah. You would just love to open up your little snake can and throw some money at the girl who can’t pay her bills.” she yelled and grabbed the food before storming off.

“Where are you going?” Leonard wanted to know.

“Going home, where I won’t be interrogated like a criminal.” she huffed and exited the apartment and quickly entered her own.

She put the food on her table at the window and sat down on the couch, starting up her laptop before grabbing a dozen candles and placing them strategically around the apartment. With a sigh, she flopped down on one of the chairs and picked at her food, her appetite forgotten.

_'Why is it so hard to pretend? I should really apologize to Sheldon, he didn't really do anything wrong.'_

“Hey.” Leonard took her out of her thoughts, entering her apartment.

“Hey.” she greeted back, deflated.

“A little mood lighting, huh?” he asked upon seeing all the candles.

“Yeah. When I didn’t pay my bill, the Department of Water and Power thought I would enjoy the ambiance.” she stated sarcastically.

“Yeah, they’re very considerate that way. By the way, you look amazingly hot in that top.” he replied with a smile, causing her to do it too.

“I used Sheldon’s money to pay my rent, then I had like fourteen dollars left over.” she stated and got up from her chair.

“Fourteen dollars, huh?” he muttered and fished the money she gave him before out of his pants pocket.

“Put it back in your pocket, or I’ll find some other place to put it.” she threatened and he wisely complied while she sat down on the couch.

“Back in the pocket it goes. Look, you do understand that Sheldon really doesn’t care when he gets the money back. It’s actually one of the few idiosyncrasies that doesn’t make you want to, you know, kill him.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not really my big problem.”

“So you’re a little behind on your bills. Everybody gets behind on their bills.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s just, this wasn’t the plan, it wasn’t supposed to go this way.”

“Well, what was the plan?”

“Um, waitress for six months and then become a movie star?” she said, as if it wasn't totally obvious.

“Was there a plan B?” he asked as he sat down next to her, his mere presence next to her having already a calming effect.

“TV star.”

“It’s probably not as bad as you think. Let’s take a look. Maybe we can find some corners to cut.” he said and took the stack of her bills. “Oh, here’s something, if you don’t have electricity, then you probably don’t need cable.” he suggested with a smile, to which she could only glare. “Just a suggestion. 170 dollars for acting classes?”

“Oh, no, I can’t give up my acting classes. I’m a professional actress.” she said.

“You’ve had an acting job where you got paid?”

“That is not the definition of professional.”

“Actually, it kind of… let’s keep looking.” he tried to reason but upon seeing another glare wisely stopped talking. “Whoa, what’s eighteen hundred dollars to the Los Angeles County Superior Court?”

_'Crap, he wasn't supposed to find that.'_ she thought and sighed.

“Oh god. Leonard, I have to tell you something and you're not gonna like it.”

“What? Did you get caught speeding going 4,000 miles an hour?” he asked her, trying to lift her mood.

“Well, remember Kurt?”

“Your gargantuan ex-boyfriend who threatened to break me in half and eat me for breakfast?”

“Yeah. He got arrested for taking a whiz on a cop car.”

“What?”

“He was drunk.”

“I would hope so.”

“Anyway, he had a bunch of outstanding tickets and a bench warrant, so I, you know, I paid his fines.”

“Hold on.” Leonard stopped her. “Your ex-boyfriend, who threatened both of us, got into trouble with the law and you paid his fines?”

“Yeah.” she said sadly.

“Why would you do that?” Leonard shouted and she could feel the anger radiating off him.

“We met the other day and he invited me for coffee and promised that he had changed and we talked and suddenly I had given him the money.” she said sadly. Instead of answering, Leonard got up and walked to her door. “Where are you going?”

“Home.” he simply said and left. The sound of her door closing felt like someone had punched her in the gut.

_'Why do I always do this?'_ she thought and headed into her bedroom to collapse on her bed. She felt tears pooling in her eyes, wondering how she could fix this. The last thing she wanted to do was to go to Kurt for fear of him doing something to her.

Not caring for the food that was getting cold or the fact that it wasn't even eight in the evening, she went into the living room and blew out all the candles before shutting down the laptop. She then went back into the bedroom to brush her teeth with more bottled water and changed into her pajamas.

Still thinking why she always ruined something in regards to her relationship, she fell into another restless sleep. Tomorrow she would work the last double shift before she had the week off as per Leonard's request. She still had no idea what he had planned but whatever it was, after today it was probably off the table.

In the other apartment, Leonard sat in his armchair and watched the other guys play a game while formulating a plan in his head how to help Penny.

* * *

The next day, after parking the car, Leonard walked towards the photomultiplier lab, instead of going to his own. He needed to see a certain student who worked as a lab assistant in said lab and ask him for a favor. When he entered the lab in question, the only person he saw was the man who ran it.

“Leonard, how are you.” the man greeted him.

“Professor Brinkman. Nice to see you again.” Leonard replied and took the offered hand.

“I told you before, you can call me Thomas when we're outside of official university business.”

“Okay, Prof... Thomas.”

“So, what brings you here?”

“I was actually looking for Frank, I need to ask him a favor. Is he around?” Leonard asked.

“He should be back soon. His brother showed up and then his fiance called and he had to step outside for a minute.”

“Oh, I'll wait then, if that's okay with you.”

“Sure. I must say Leonard, when that young man showed up and asked for the job, I was surprised that he knew you.”

“Yeah, we helped each other a few times. Why, is something wrong?”

“No, quite the opposite. He turned out to be a real asset in my work, not only because he can carry my equipment around but also because of his bright mind. His way of thinking has solved some of the problems I had run into lately.”

“I heard that you offered him to be his thesis adviser. Didn't you state at the latest department meeting that you didn't want to do that anymore?” Leonard asked.

“I did, yes. But after working with him and meeting his future wife, I decided to make an exception. So, I heard you took the next week off. Vacation?”

“Actually, my girlfriend's mother has her birthday but she lives in Nebraska. And since plane tickets are expensive and my girlfriend has some money issues currently, I decided to make a road trip out of it. Although my car won't thank me, making it go through a 1500 mile journey twice. And neither will my ass.”

“You can borrow my car, if you want. I'm still nursing my wrist injury and can't drive the car while it heals.”

“I don't know, it's a long way.”

“You sure? It's a new model hybrid SUV, and very fuel efficient while also very comfortable. It gets 35 miles per gallon.”

“Wow, that is efficient for a SUV.” Leonard said surprised and doing a little math in his head. “That adds up to around fifty gallons of fuel for one trip.”

“Exactly” Thomas agreed. “And going by current fuel prices, that gets you to around two hundred dollars fuel cost for one trip. Listen. I lend you the car for free but you have to pay the fuel you need. And I expect to get it back with its gas tank full.”

“Don't you want a fee for lending it to me?”

“Look at it as a thank you for giving me Frank. He is... oh, there they are.” Thomas said and pointed to the door where the hulking form of Frank squeezed through the door, followed by another shorter and slimmer but still very tall person.

“Doctor Hofstadter. This is a surprise.”

“Hey Frank.” Leonard greeted him and shook his hand.

“This is my brother Hank.” Frank introduced the other guy.

“Frank and Hank, huh?” Leonard grinned.

“Yeah.” Hank replied. “That was hilarious when hearing that in school. But once you're sixteen and six foot four while pushing two hundred and fifty pounds, the jokes stop. Especially when your fourteen year old brother is already six foot eight and pushing three hundred pounds and bench-pressing almost his own weight.”

“No joke intended.” Leonard said, holding his hands up. “I actually came here to ask for a favor but I don't know if I should even do it.”

“What is it, Doctor Hofstadter?” Frank asked.

“Remember Penny's ex-boyfriend Kurt...”

“Lets go!” Frank interrupted and turned to leave.

“Wait. You don't even know what's going on.” Leonard stopped him.

“I don't care. That guy has it coming, especially after he attacked your Penny in the grocery store.”

“He attacked her in a grocery store?” Leonard asked shocked.

“Yeah. Me and Alice were shopping there as well and I saw him charging her. I intercepted him and then threw him into a dumpster behind the store. Headfirst.”

“Nice. But it still wasn't nice for her to keep that from me.”

“She probably had enough on her plate, I overheard her and Alice talking and she seemed to have had a very bad day. But anyway, what has he done this time?” Frank asked, his deep voice even more menacing when spoken loud.

“He got Penny to lend him money so he can pay his fine to avoid going to jail. And now he refuses to pay her back unless she goes to him in person.” Leonard explained.

“Did she pay the fine for him in her name or did she give him the money and he paid it?” Hank asked.

“I... don't know. Why, is that important?” Leonard retorted.

“If she gave him a check and he cashed it, their bank statements support her claim. Also, since he wants her to come to him to get the money, we can assume that he has it in his apartment. If it's not a ploy to get her to come to him, of course.” Hank explained. “So, what's the plan?”

“I wanted to go to him and ask him to hand the money over, Frank in tow. Her ex was usually quite forthcoming when the prospect of bodily harm was on the horizon.”

“Then lets go, I'll come too.” Hank said and the trio set out.

“Wait Leonard.” Professor Brinkman shouted before they could leave. “What about my offer?”

“Oh, yes, I accept. I will get it tomorrow after work, if that's okay. I had planned to head out on Saturday morning and return nine days later. Can you hold out without a car for that long?”

“Sure, no problem. See you tomorrow. I will tell my wife in case I'm not home.”

“Thanks Thomas.” Leonard said and walked out of the lab quickly to catch up with Frank and Hank.

A short drive later, they stood outside the block, waiting for a few minutes until an older woman exited it and thus opened the door for them. They got up the three floors and to the door to Kurt's apartment.

“So, what's the plan?” Leonard asked.

“I will hang back a bit and Frank will stand against the wall here.” Hank started, pointing at the wall next to Kurt's door. Leonard saw that the placement would allow Frank to not be detected if Kurt didn't step out of his apartment. “If he gets out of hand, we'll interject. Try to get him to admit that he borrowed the money from her and refuses to pay her back unless she comes to him.”

“Okay, I'll try.” Leonard said and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the unmistakable form of Kurt opened the door, beer bottle in hand, looking down at Leonard with a mixture of rage and disbelief.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“I came here for the eighteen hundred dollars you owe Penny.”

“No. She will get her money when she comes here to get it herself. Otherwise, it remains with me.”

“Can I imply from your response that her money is currently present in your apartment somewhere.”

“Yeah...” Kurt slowly said, not knowing where Leonard was going with this.

“You do realize that Penny has no interest in you whatsoever, right?” Leonard asked. “So, getting her here won't really change something, especially if you are trying to convince her that you have changed. The only reason for your demanding her to get here is that you want to force her to do something.”

“Listen up, you runt. You stole that bitch from me and if she wants her money back, she has to work for it. And if you don't leave now, I will break you in half.” Kurt threatened.

“I hope you remember what happened every time you threatened me like this.” Leonard said.

“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do, call your...” Kurt started but stopped talking when Frank stepped around the corner. “Oh, not you again.” he screamed and smashed the beer bottle against the door frame before he charged at Frank with the upper half in hand.

Frank remained undeterred and simply took a step to the side while grabbing Kurt's outstretched arm, making the sharp end of the bottle half miss him by a lot. While holding Kurt's wrist, he put his other hand on Kurt's back and shoved him hard against the opposite wall, stepping right behind him to prevent him from moving or kicking out.

“That's quite enough.” Frank said calmly while Kurt continued to struggle.

“Let me go you big ogre! I'm going to fucking kill you!” Kurt shouted, his struggles useless against Frank's herculean strength.

“Okay, that's enough.” Hanks strong and authoritative voice rang through the din. “You're under arrest for assault with intent to kill.” Hank continued and held is LAPD police badge under Kurt's nose after which Kurt suddenly became very still.

“I didn't know you were a cop.” Leonard said after Hank had cuffed Kurt with Frank still holding him.

“You never asked.” Hank replied and called the police, giving them his badge number to facilitate faster processing.

Not five minutes later, the trample of feet announced the arrival of the uniformed police officers. Hank went to them and exchanged a few words with them, pointing to Leonard and his brother and Kurt. One of the officers led a renewed struggling and cursing Kurt away, Frank going with him to keep him in line, while the other officer stayed behind.

“Officer.” Hank started. “The man you just arrested has one thousand and eight hundred dollars in his apartment that don't belong to him but to the girlfriend of this young man here. He came here to collect it.”

“I don't know if I can allow that even with your word supporting the claim.” he officer replied.

“I have a recording, if that helps.” Hank said and took out his phone, replaying the conversation between Leonard and Kurt.

“I guess the case is clear in that regard. Do you know where the money is located?” the officer directed towards Leonard.

“No, but the last time such a thing had happened, it was in a drawer under the TV.” Leonard replied, thinking back to the day he got Penny's TV for her.

“I will look through them for you.” the officer said, putting on gloves. “And I will need the recording too as evidence.”

It took only thirty seconds and three drawers to find a stack of bills. The officer counted them and they summed up to exactly eighteen hundred dollars, upon which he rolled them up and wrapped them in a rubber band he had produced somewhere from his uniform before handing them to Leonard.

“Here you go, Sir.”

“Thank you officer.” Leonard said, shocked that the officer really had gotten the money. Leonard had expected more problems after Kurt's arrest.

“Don't look so shocked. The delinquent did admit that the money wasn't his and that he implied that he wanted to hurt or violate the owner of the money when she got here. Also, since he's on the hook for assault with intent to kill, I don't think he will object to you taking the money and add intent to rape to the charge.”

“Just make sure that she doesn't let herself be persuaded into paying a fine for him again.” Hank grinned as the officer bid his goodbye.

They followed him downstairs and were met by Frank on the sidewalk. The police car drove off, leaving the other three standing at Leonard's car.

“I can't thank you enough for your help.” Leonard said, shaking both man's hands.

“It was our pleasure.” Hank said and Frank agreed.

“Let me buy you lunch. The Cheesecake Factory is not that far from here.” Leonard suggested.

“Uh, I'd like that, their barbecue burgers are great.” Frank said happily and wrung his hands.

“Are you sure you want to buy him lunch? He'll eat an entire page of the menu.” Hank said.

“Shut up, little man.” Frank laughed.

Laughing, they drove to the Cheesecake Factory. Leonard was a bit apprehensive about meeting Penny since they had ended the preceding evening on not so good terms.

“I have one favor to ask. Don't mention the money in front of Penny. I want to surprise her tonight. Also, if her reaction is more negative because of interfering with her life, I should be the one facing the blowout.” Leonard said and the others agreed as he parked the car in front of the restaurant.

* * *

“There are three hunks at table eleven.” Cheryl whispered to Penny with a giggly voice.

“So what?” Penny replied exasperated. “Cheryl, I don't have time to indulge in your appetites. I have to find a way to fix things with Leonard after he found out about me paying Kurt's fine.”

“Well, maybe you can start right now, he is one of the three hunks.” Cheryl grinned.

“What?” Penny whipped her head around, seeing Leonard sitting at the table with Frank and another man she didn't know. She grabbed the menus and headed to the table with a smile. Even mad at her, Leonard still came to her place of work.

“Hey guys.” Penny greeted the group.

Leonard lifted his head and gave her a small smile. Taking it as an invitation and hoping that she didn't misjudge it too much, she bent down and placed a soft kiss on his mouth which he reciprocated by pursing his lips before they connected.

“Hello Penny.” Frank greeted her.

“Penny, this is Frank's brother Hank.” Leonard introduced the unknown man. “Hank, this is my girlfriend Penny.”

“Nice to meet you.” Hank said and Penny returned the greeting.

“Yeah, he's my little brother.” Frank grinned.

“To clarify, I'm older than him. But when you brother is seven foot two then you're considered small even with six foot seven.” Hank smiled.

“Do you need menus or do you know what you want?” Penny asked, still laughing.

“I take my usual.” Frank said.

“Three barbecue burgers, bacon on the side, extra large fries and a diet coke? Got it.”

“I take a barbecue burger as well, no bacon, with fries and a sprite.” Leonard ordered.

“Is that burger good?” Hank asked, having never eaten here.

“It's amazing.” Frank said.

“Then I'll take one too.”

“Coming right up.” Penny said and almost hopped away, her mood much improved by the kiss.

“I see that you two seem to be doing better already.” Cheryl said from behind her after Penny had delivered the order to the kitchen.

“Apparently, although we still need to talk. And you could lose the hint of regret from your voice.” Penny said, poking out her tongue,

“Yeah yeah, keep rubbing it in and I will get a blond wig and a lot of alcohol.” Cheryl replied, also poking out her tongue and quickly hurrying away, leaving Penny standing there open-mouthed.

She brought the food to the group and retreated back to the bar, waiting for one of her tables to be done and using the time to watch Leonard. She saw him talking and laughing with the guys although the sheer size of the other two made them look like a gay couple that was out with their son. From time to time he would catch her eye and give her a wink or a smile, telling her without words that things between them would be okay.

After Leonard and Hank had finished eating, with Frank having more or less inhaled his food, she collected their dishes and gave them the check which Leonard paid all by himself, adding a generous tip. She wondered what he had asked of them to have to pay for their lunch but she could ask him later the day when they had the talk they needed to have.

With a wistful look, she watched Leonard and the others leave. For her, today's double shift couldn't end soon enough.

After her shift had finally ended, the sky was darkening already as she drove home. Her feet were sore from a week of double shifts and she still wondered why he had insisted on her taking a full week off while knowing that a visit to her parents for her mother's birthday was impossible due to her monetary situation. Regardless, she had now nine consecutive days off and she could try to enjoy them, at least once she found a way to pay her energy bill.

She parked her car next to Leonard's, seeing a big and seemingly brand new SUV standing next to it and walked up the stairs, both wanting to go fast to see Leonard again and go slow to avoid the uncomfortable talk they needed to have. After reaching the fourth floor, she wondered if she should knock on Leonard's door first but she should at least change before. Also, she had to ask him if she could use his shower, since she still didn't have her water back on yet. With a sigh, she chose changing first and headed into her apartment.

“Hey.” Leonard's voice made her startle with a shriek.

“EEK.” she squealed in shock. “Jeez, Leonard. Why are you sitting here in the dark?” she asked, holding her hand over her heart, trying to slow it down.

“Because your lights don't work without energy.” he replied. “And it's not totally dark, I'm getting my screen tan.” he grinned and put his laptop down on her table.

“Let me rephrase that question. Why are you sitting in my apartment at all?”

“We need to talk.” came the reply and Penny got a sinking feeling in her stomach. Usually it was women starting a conversation like this and it never ended well.

“I know.” she sighed and sat down next to him. “I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier about the thing with Kurt. We are supposed to be in a relationship and it was stupid of me to hide it from you. But I felt that it was my problem to solve and it would have been unfair to you to burden you with it. I promise, I never wanted to hurt or deceive you.”

“Um... okay, you basically saved us a lot of time now.” he grinned. “I'm glad you think that way but what I wanted to talk to you about is that I hope you're not mad at me for involving myself in your affairs.”

“What do you mean?”

“Here.” Leonard said and handed Penny a thick envelope, where he had put the money in. It seemed more appropriate than handing her a roll of money.

Penny grabbed the envelope and hesitantly opened it. Her eyes opened wide and her mouth followed upon seeing the stack of bills inside. She couldn't believe her eyes. Leonard had handed her a bunch of money but she knew that she couldn't accept a gift like this from him, even when he was her boyfriend.

“Leonard, I can't accept this. It's a nice sentiment that you want to give me money to help me out but even if you are my boyfriend, this is way too much.”

“What? Oh, no, no, no.” Leonard interjected, finally understanding her confusion. “This isn't me giving you my money, this is your money.”

“What?”

“I got it from your ex-boyfriend.”

“How did you manage to get it from him?” she asked, shocked at the fact that he had success where she had none.

“I appealed to his sense of honor.” he replied with a straight face.

“Wait a minute. Frank, of course. That's why you paid their lunch bill.”

“Yeah. By the way, Kurt is probably going to jail.”

“Really? What did he do?”

“He attacked Frank with a smashed bottle. His brother, who by the way is a cop in LA, arrested him, called the police and had him hauled away. He also recorded the exchange, so they have evidence of Kurt threatening me and Frank, going so far as directly saying that he would kill him.”

“Wow.” Penny said and sat back.

“Hank also told me to tell you not to pay any fine or bail put on him, no matter how much he begs.”

“Don't worry, I wouldn't do it even if I could afford to pay a possible bail. But paying my water and energy bills plus my cable bill and paying back Sheldon is more important than that moron.”

“Good to know. Now come on, grab some clothes and lets go.” Leonard said and stood up, grabbing his laptop.

“Excuse me? What are you doing?”

“Penny, you really need a shower. So, take some clothes, come to my place, go into our shower, take off your uniform, wash the grit from your skin, make some pictures of your gorgeous naked body and get dressed again in civilian clothes. Then we can have dinner.”

“Oh, great. Except the picture part, I won't do that. At least not today.” she said grinning and grabbed some sweat clothes. “Will you then come back with me to my place and spend the night?” she asked seductively.

“No.” he replied and her face fell. “You still need to pack and then we both have to head to bed early.”

“What? Why?”

“Because we need to get going at five in the morning tomorrow.”

“I'm lost. Go where?”

“Where do you think? Why do you think I needed you to take the week off. Go to your parents of course.”

“But, it's still expensive and I thought you had to order plane tickets early.”

“Oh no, we're going on a road trip.” he grinned.

“Really?” she asked excitedly.

“Yeah. Professor Brinkman offered me his car. It's a hybrid SUV with a very high fuel efficiency, so the fuel costs are not as high as you might expect. But we still need approximately twenty-four hours for one trip, that's why I want to head out early so we can get as far as possible before stopping for the night.”

“That's an amazing idea. How did you come up with this?”

“I thought it would be nice to take a trip together. And it would only be you and me.”

“That's so great. I love this idea.” she said and kissed him hard, something she wanted to do all day. “By the way, did Sheldon finally figure out what we're a couple after you told him that you and I are going to Nebraska?”

“Actually, Sheldon thinks I'm going to a seminar about experimental physics.”

“What? Why would he think that.”

“Because there really is a seminar happening next week in Denver. I told him that I would be gone next week and he assumed that I was going to the seminar. And I simply didn't correct him. Also, the fact that I picked up Professor Brinkman's car today makes him think that I drive because Brinkman can't use a car himself due to his wrist injury.”

“You're a sneaky one, Doctor Hofstadter.” she grinned. “I know that we agreed to stop doing our utmost to sneak around but it's getting ridiculous how clueless they are. I mean seriously, we kissed passionately on New Years and you're spending more nights in my bed than in yours. Howard heard us having sex.”

“To be fair, he didn't know it was me.”

“Still, it's getting really ridiculous.” she said and walked out with him, grabbing five hundred dollars from the envelope to pay back Sheldon.

“Enjoy the time we still can screw with them.” he grinned and both went into 4A.

“Finally, you're here. Now we can eat.” Sheldon said, sitting in his spot.

“Sorry sweetie, had to thank Leonard for helping me out. Oh, and here's the money back that I owed you.” she said and handed Sheldon the bills.

“Thank you Penny.” Sheldon said and accepted the money.

“How did you thank him.” Howard asked in his usual creepy voice and Penny knew exactly what he was after.

“Oh Howard.” she replied in a sultry voice. “I threw him onto my bed and did a sensual striptease before I rode him so hard he begged me to stop but I wouldn't, not until I was satisfied. And now I will use his shower to clean myself up.”

“She's so funny. She had no water for three days now, that's why she is showering here.” Sheldon interjected, making Penny shake her head at their seemingly willful ignorance.

She went into the bathroom and locked the door before getting out of her uniform and stepping into the shower. Enjoying the hot water, she took her time and after twenty minutes, she dried herself up and put on the other clothes she brought, putting her used ones in a bag before heading back out into the living room where Leonard had kept the wooden chair free for her while Raj sat on the couch between Howard and Sheldon again.

“Penny, just so you can prepare yourself, since Leonard goes to that week-long seminar, you have the privilege of driving me to work all next week.” Sheldon said, serious.

“First of all, it's not a privilege, it's a chore and a burdening one to boot.” she replied to him and held up a hand to prevent a comment from him. “And second, I'm also not here next week. My mom's birthday is next week and I intend to spend the next week with my family. I'm leaving tomorrow.”

“Then who's going to drive me to work?” Sheldon asked incredulous and looked to Howard and Raj, both of whom shook their heads.

“I'll take you Sheldon, hope you like riding along on a scooter again.” Howard said and grinned as Raj looked on with panic in his eyes, his mental condition making him unable to voice his refusal aloud.

“Your scooter is a deathtrap. So, Raj, you're the winner.” Sheldon said while Raj hung is head in defeat.

“Well, thanks for the shower and dinner but I still need to pack. And then I have to go to bed early.” Penny said and headed out, giving Leonard a little wink.

After returning to her apartment, she tried to pack her luggage as best she could in candlelight, taking care to pack warm clothing for the cold March temperatures in Nebraska but not forgetting some of the clothes she would only wear for Leonard's benefit. Knowing her mother, Penny would probably be able to use their washing machine, so she didn't pack a pair of underwear for every day. She added some toiletries for the trip and not able to think about more, she pushed her luggage into the living room.

**You don't need to pack underwear for every day, we can use my parent's washing machine** she texted Leonard, not knowing if he had already packed.

**Thanks, now my luggage is a bit lighter :)** came the reply, making her smile.

**Okay, I'm going to bed now**

**Me too. I'm knocking on your door at around 5 am**

**Understood. Setting my alarm clock now ;)** she wrote and put her words into actions, setting her alarm for ten minutes before five. Plenty of time to get ready in the dark. She looked around her dark apartment once again, trying to remember if she had forgotten to pack anything. Not able to think of something, she changed into her pajamas and headed to bed.

* * *

Her alarm clock yanked her out of bed at the ungodly hour of a few minutes to five in the morning. Even with the knowledge that it was necessary she cursed at the early hour. She headed sleepily into her bathroom and collapsed onto her toilet, letting go while trying not to fall asleep again. The only time she like being woken up at this time of day was when Leonard did it in some form of foreplay.

After she had washed her face and brushed her teeth with water from yet another water bottle, she headed back into her bedroom to change out of her pajamas and into some underwear. Just as she grabbed a pair of pants, she heard her apartment door opening.

“Penny? You ready? Take the cash with you and we can stop at a branch office of your bank on Monday so you can pay your bills.” Leonard asked from the living room.

“I'm getting dressed right now. And that's a good idea.” she called out and fumbled with her jeans.

“Take your time, you look great in those panties.” his voice interrupted her and she turned around to see him standing against the door frame. The dawn light coming into her window was enough to illuminate his grinning face.

“Like what you see?” she asked with a smile.

“Always.”

“What are you going to do about it?” she said seductively and started to pull her panties down again.

“I'm going to turn around and wait in the living room for you to finish dressing.” he said.

“Yeah, and then we can... wait, what? I had hoped to have some sexy time. We hadn't had sex at all since my period was over.”

“Believe me, I want nothing more than to press you onto the bed and take you hard. But I know that if we do that, we won't be getting out of here for another hour and then we'll be even more tired than now.”

“You're no fun.” Penny pouted.

“Oh, I had planned to make it to Denver today where we can spend the night in a hotel. And once there, I want to take you against the wall.” he grinned.

“If you take me against the wall, I will ride you to oblivion right after.” she grinned back and put on her pants and shirt. “Did you pack a coat and other warm clothes? March temperatures in Nebraska are in their forties.”

“Yep, packed enough warm sweaters, warm socks, the whole shebang. “

“Wow, I'm surprised at how awake I am without coffee. Must be the excitement.” Penny said and grabbed her luggage.

“I prepared some coffee in a thermos flask so it stays warm in case you want to sleep some more in the car.” he replied and followed her outside, his luggage standing in the hallway.

“I knew there was a reason I kept you around.” she laughed.

“As a source of caffeine and orgasmic pleasure?”

“You bet. But nothing else.” she said and poked out her tongue.

“You wanna walk to Nebraska?” he grinned.

“Okay, I keep you as a chauffeur too.”

“Funny. Now lets go.”

Still laughing, they went down the stairs and into the car.

* * *

Despite her attempts to stay awake, the comfort of the car soon lulled her to sleep. She had no idea how long she had been asleep when Leonard gently shook her awake. She rolled round to him with a smile and pulled the lever to bring her seat back up to a sitting position.

“Hey. How far are we?” she asked him.

“We just crossed the state line into Utah.” he replied.

“Really? What time is it? How long have I been asleep?”

“It's after ten. You slept for about five hours, give or take.”

“Wow. This car really is comfy.”

“Yep. The air condition keeps the temperature even and the seats are very snug. But we should gas up soon, we have dropped below quarter. The gas tank wasn't full when we started.”

“How big is the gas tank of this car?”

“Twenty-five gallons.”

“Wow, that is big.”

“It's a SUV, what do you expect. But thanks to that engine, it gets 35 miles to the gallon.”

“Damn, I need a car like this.” Penny said.

“To be honest, I don't think you could afford one like this right now. Neither could I by the way.”

“Want to switch places so you can rest a bit?”

“Yes please. I'll continue until we reach a rest stop, we gas up and take a lunch break.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Penny agreed and leaned back into her seat.

She felt much better now after catching up on some more sleep. She grabbed the thermos flask Leonard had prepared and filled the lid with coffee, downing it in a few swigs before filling it up again and handing it to Leonard. He gratefully accepted the hot liquid and sighed after drinking it down.

They continued in idle conversation for an hour until they came across a gas station with attached rest stop. Penny would have liked to do something more but since Leonard was driving, not much was available.

Leonard halted the car next to a pump and went to work, letting the gas flow into the tank. Penny looked at the meter and watched the number of gallons and especially the price rise and rise. It finally stopped at just over nineteen gallons, with the price ending up at seventy-four dollars plus some change. She really needed to divide the costs between them so he won't pay for it all.

“Okay, lets park the car over there and get something to eat.” Leonard said after he had paid for the gas with his credit card.

“You really want to have gas station lunch?”

“No, there's a food van over there.”

“Where?”

“By that construction site. Short-order cooking is better than gas station food on any given day.” he said and both exited the car after he parked it close to the resting area.

“That's true.” she agreed and linked her arm through his as they made their way to the food mobile.

Leonard ordered a loaded omelet without the cheese and Penny chose a BLT, which she ordered to be made not before Leonard's food was done so they could eat together, since Leonard's order took longer to make than her sandwich. With a knowing smile, the cook set to work and just over ten minutes later, both were sitting on the wooden benches, consuming a filling lunch with Penny eating hers in the old habit of pulling pieces of the bread off instead of biting.

“So, from here on I'll drive. How long do you think it will take for us to reach Denver?” she asked between bites.

“Eight to nine hours, depending on the flow of traffic. If we can keep the speed up to eighty and there are no interruptions like traffic jams or construction sites, we could make it in under seven hours.”

“Which would let us be in Denver by six, give or take. Plenty of time to do a little sightseeing, don't you think?” she asked hopefully.

“Yeah but not for too long though. We could go to the seminar site so I can pick up a few things for Sheldon.”

“Why?”

“Well, since he thinks I'm at the seminar, why not indulge his illusion a bit.” he grinned. “But if you want to be at your parent's as soon as possible, we can't go sightseeing too long since we need to head out early again tomorrow.”

“How long will the drive be from Denver to Omaha?”

“About six hours if we don't take breaks.”

“Then here's the plan.” she started. “We go to Denver, get your science stuff, check into a hotel, shower and eat and then head into town to see what the nearest shopping mall has to offer. And then back to the hotel, sex, more sex, shower, sex again, sleep, then sex again and then we can resume our trip at eight or nine after breakfast. No need to start before.”

“I like the sex part.” he grinned. “Not so much the shopping.”

“What's so bad about shopping?”

“Apart from the fact that I'm usually the bag holder?”

“Ha ha. Now lets go, the clock is running.”

They threw away the plastic dishes and returned to the car, Leonard getting into the passenger seat while Penny started adjusting her seat and the mirrors. When she started driving, she was marveled at how good the car's control was. It took barely any effort to drive it and as Leonard made himself comfortable in the other seat, Penny activated cruise control and concentrated on keeping the car on the road.

The combination of a full stomach and a prone position soon lulled Leonard into a nap and Penny smiled when she heard him snoring softly. Although she would have loved to have him awake to keep her company, his presence alone was a comforting factor and she let him sleep like he did her in the morning.

* * *

When Leonard woke up again, she had driven almost four hours and two of those hours had been some of the hardest she ever had to endure. She had no idea what exactly Leonard had been dreaming about but the bulge that had developed in his pants had been a good indicator of the general direction. It had been hard not to run her hand over his erection, much less to stop somewhere and use it for its intended purpose.

“What time is it? Where are we?” Leonard asked.

“It's a quarter to five. We're almost there. We just past the twenty miles sign to Denver.” Penny said.

“Okay, so I can congratulate you for speeding.” Leonard grinned.

“Maybe I did go over the speed limit from time to time.” she grinned back.

“You just want to be in Denver for dinner.” he quipped.

“Yes! I'm hungry.” _'Not to mention, extremely horny.'_ she added in her head.

They drove the last twenty miles in silence, the increased traffic taking too much of Penny's concentration to give much input in conversations. They passed the suburbs and were soon in Denver properly but Penny had really no idea where they should spend the night.

“I'm setting the GPS to 200 West 48th Avenue.” Leonard said as if reading her mind. “The Quality Inn is relatively cheap but still offers good rooms, according to online reviews.”

She followed the directions and after only thirty minutes more, Penny parked the car on the lot behind the hotel. Both stepped out of the car and stretched their bodies, the rigor of hours behind the wheel taking its toll.

Since the parking lot was fenced and monitored, they grabbed only one bag each, which held their underwear and toiletries, deciding to leave the rest in the car since they didn't need it tonight. They went into the hotel and Leonard got them a room for the night, quickly receiving the key. They went into the elevator and rode up the three floors until they were in front of their door.

After entering the room, Penny looked around and found it clean and comfortable looking. A good-sized bed dominated the right side while a closet did the same with the left. A door led to an en suite bathroom with shower cabin but no bathtub. Leonard dropped his bag and collapsed backwards onto the bed with a sigh. She felt equally tired and was seriously contemplating about dropping her planned shopping trip.

“I'm going to take a shower.” Penny said and grabbed some new underwear and toiletries before heading into the bathroom.

She discarded her clothes and stepped into the cabin, turning on the tap and easing it to a comfortable temperature setting. As she stood facing the wall and felt the water ran down her body, she heard the bathroom door open and wondered if he needed to use the toilet despite his hesitation when she or other people were around.

A cold breeze of air assaulted her back when Leonard opened the slide door of the shower cabin. Before she could ask him what he was doing, his arms were around her waist and she felt his hard erection pressing against her back.

“What are you doing?” she asked playfully when his lips latched on to the pulse point on her neck, making her shiver despite the warm water.

He simply hummed and held her tight, making her skin tingle when his teeth nipped her skin. She knew that this wouldn't romantic or slow, this would be a hard and fast fulfillment of urges. She couldn't blame him since she felt the same thing, having waited for ten days now to fill him inside her again.

To nudge him along, she lifted her ass and ran it over his manhood, eliciting an urgent groan from him. He wasted no more time and took one of his hands off her waist to guide him self to her center before he pushed in to the hilt and immediately started pounding her hard, not giving her any time to get used to him.

“God, Leonard!” she shouted at the sudden penetration before her vocabulary devolved into nothing but moans and yelps when he hit her sweet spot with his thrusts. His hand moved to the mixer tap, shutting off the water to save some for later before it went to her left breast and started kneading it, his fingers pinching her nipple.

Her head fell backwards as her first orgasm coursed through her and she turned it to meet his lips. Their tongues engaged in a furious battle while the sound of their bodies slamming together reverberated through the room. Penny knew that if the adjoining room was occupied, the people in their would get quite an audio show. Leonard pushed her against the cold and wet tiles and continued to pummel her hard.

When his right hand went between her legs to rub her clit in sync with his thrusts, she couldn't stop the second orgasm coming, even if she had wanted to. Sometimes she felt a pang of guilt about having so many orgasms while he worked her hard but he never complained and she couldn't bring herself to say anything against it since it felt way too good.

His grunts became harder and his pounding increased in speed and intensity. Penny knew that it signaled his impending climax and to help him along, she started clenching her inner muscles every time he pushed in. She knew he loved when she did that but it had also the added bonus of making the experience even better for her because she felt every movement of him against her inner walls.

His hand on her clit moved equally faster and when he climaxed with a loud groan, she fell off the cliff with him one last time. Breathing hard, he rested his head against her shoulder and slid out of her, an action she rewarded with a whimper.

“You have no idea how much I have missed this.” he panted and kissed her neck.

“Probably about as much as I missed it.” she smiled and tilted her head to give him better access.

“And I kept my promise. I said I would take you against a wall and I did.” he grinned and reopened the tap.

Since they were both already in the cabin and naked, they showered together to save time. After drying themselves off, they each got dressed in a new pair of underwear and headed out into the living room again where they deposited their used clothes into a separate bag before putting it back into the luggage.

“So, you want to go on your shopping trip now?” Leonard asked as Penny let herself collapse on the bed.

“Actually, my body is currently a bit weak thanks to the lack of food and the afterglow of mind-blowing shower sex.” Penny said grinning.

“Dinner downstairs?”

“Yes please.” she said as her phone buzzed with an incoming message.

“Who's it from?” Leonard asked after placing the order to room service.

“Cheryl. She's asking how the trip goes so far. She's so nosy. I bet Kim is sitting beside her right now.” Penny said and typed a response.

“What are you telling her?”

“The truth. 'Trip was great. We are in Denver right now in a hotel room. Just had shower sex with three orgasms.' And send.”

“Isn't that a bit too much information?” he asked.

“Leonard, when it comes to those two, I will always brag with the truth about your sexual prowess just to see them turn green with envy.” she grinned and received another message. “Girl, you walk on thin ice.” she quoted and typed another message but before Leonard could ask what she wrote, she jumped up and pulled him outside.

They went into the hotel restaurant and both ordered a fish meal because it was light enough to facilitate an easier falling asleep. The cook must be really fast because it took less than ten minutes for their meals to arrive.

“Didn't you want to get some stuff for Sheldon from the science thing?” she asked as they ate.

“Screw him. I feel the same way you are. Still basking in the afterglow of sex and tired from all the driving.”

“Good.” she smiled and they continued eating as she prepared to do what she had wrote Cheryl and Kim she would and had promised him this morning.

They finished their meal and Leonard let the waiter put it on Leonard's hotel tab. As they moved out of the restaurant, Penny's tight sweater and pants attracted lewd looks from a group of young men, one of them going so far as to wink at her. She put her hands into Leonard's and linked their fingers, showing the group that she was taken and they had no chance of ever scoring with her.

“So, any outside activity planned for the evening?” Leonard asked after they were back in their room.

“No, I really am beat from the drive.” Penny yawned.

“Okay, then I'll get comfortable.” he said and took off his pants and hoodie, getting into bed wearing only his shirt and shorts, and his socks of course, and taking the TV remote, turning on the TV to a random channel. “Anything specific you want to watch?”

Instead of answering, Penny waited until he looked at her before she slowly unbuttoned her pants and turned her back to him. Equally slowly, she pulled her jeans down, revealing her light blue underwear to him. While not a thong, it revealed more skin of her cheeks than it covered and she could almost hear him gulp.

Turning back around, she again slowly pulled off her sweater, revealing a bra the same color as her panties and watched with a smile as the familiar bulge grew in his shorts. Not changing the speed of her movements, she stalked to the bed, placing her hands and one knee on it before crawling towards him.

Leonard swallowed hard and pushed himself backwards a bit. He was in no way scared but watching this blond goddess, who agreed to be his girlfriend, move towards him like a feral cat made him climax almost immediately without having her touch him once. God, how much he loved that woman. He just needed to find a way to tell her without fearing that she wouldn't say it back or just say it to placate him.

“Do you really think I want to watch TV?” she breathed and fingered with the waist band of his shorts, pulling it down and freeing his erection from its confinement.

“There's a documentary about the mating rituals of lions and tigers.” he quipped and wondered what part of his brain had any blood left to make up such a joke.

“Do lions and tigers do this?” she asked with sultry voice and dipped her head down, taking him into her mouth and wetting his tip with her tongue by swirling it around.

“I bet they could learn a thing or two from us.” he managed to say before his eyes rolled back into his skull when Penny went down even further, taking him in completely.

Blood seemed to be coming back to his brain because he heard it rushing past his ears, almost drowning out the slurping sounds of his cock in Penny's mouth as she blew him. She knew exactly when to slow down or speed up to keep him on the edge of the cliff without allowing him to jump.

Penny smiled to herself internally, her mouth unable to do it because of Leonard's thick manhood inside it. The weekend before, she had searched the internet for ways on how to please a man with your mouth and on Tuesday she had taken her exam, so to speak by keeping him on the edge for almost an hour before she let him release.

And just as he had learned by doing how to please her with his tongue for a long time, she managed to learn the same with thing, the difference today being that she had no intention of letting him climax or drawing it out for an hour. Her own arousal was already sky-high and today she didn't have mother nature blocking any release.

She was surprised when Leonard suddenly pulled his upper body into a sitting position by placing his hand on the back of her head. Deliberately or not, the move pushed his cock deeper into her mouth than she was prepared for and before the gag reflex could overcome her, she quickly relaxed her throat when she felt his hands opening the clasp of her bra and pulling the fabric off her.

“Wow, that was a surprising move.” she said after releasing him, taking a deep breath.

“Sorry, I wasn't thinking. But am I a bad guy for thinking that it looked amazing?”

“I don't know without seeing it.” she said and Leonard grabbed his phone that was lying on the nightstand next to the bed.

“Take it in again like before.” he commanded and she complied with a grin. Before she could even begin to wonder what he had planned, he sat up again with his hand on the back of her head and snapped a picture before lying back down again. Luckily the whole thing was short enough for her not to gag.

“What was that about?” she asked him.

“Look at it.” he grinned and showed her the picture. Although it was her on the receiving end, she still had to laugh at her own facial expression. Eyes wide in surprise and her cheeks round as if her mouth was filled with a dozen cherries. The positioning of her head between his legs and her mouth around his base with not a single millimeter of his manhood outside her mouth was extremely arousing to her.

“Wow. But I think now it's time to repay my efforts.” she grinned and took off her panties before straddling his lap again.

“Oh? And how do you suppose I should do that?” he asked with another grin.

“Well, I think pleasuring me for an inordinate amount of time is a good way to start.” she said in a sultry voice and slowly sank down on him with a moan, letting his manhood stretch her insides.

“An inordinate amount of time?” he asked after she had settled. “Given how tight you are and how amazingly good this feels, I don't think I can last long.”

“Leonard, over the last year I have learned your tells very well. I think I can keep you from coming for a while.” she said with pride.

“Okay then, do your best.” he grinned in response.

Penny did as she promised and slowly rode him, bringing him to the brink like she had with her mouth without letting him climax, watching out for the telltale signs of the changes in his breathing or how his hands grasped her tighter. Every time he did, she simply slowed down or stopped altogether until he had calmed down enough before starting her slow grinding movements again.

This position didn't allow herself to experience the amazing and frequent orgasms she usually had when riding him but this was a whole new level of sexual intercourse, not just going for the quick release but the whole experience of making love.

She managed for thirty-five minutes to keep him in limbo before she herself couldn't take it anymore and fulfilled her promise she made in the morning to ride him to oblivion by speeding up exponentially and riding him hard and fast until both of them climaxed at the same time.

After another shower, both changed into their underwear again, since their pajamas were still in the car. Penny took the shirt Leonard had on before his first shower to use it as a sleeping shirt before she climbed into bed with him. After settling into their regular sleeping position of him spooning her, both fell into a satisfied sleep.

Tomorrow, she would finally see her parents in person again and hopefully, they would like Leonard the same way after meeting him in person.

* * *

After getting woken by Leonard in his special way with his head between her legs and subsequently getting mounted by him before being pounded hard, they both took another shower and headed downstairs to enjoy the breakfast buffet. As soon as they were done eating, Leonard paid the bill and both headed outside to their car, depositing the bags back into the car and driving off, the GPS set on Omaha with Penny in the drivers seat as per their agreement.

“I did something really stupid but it felt right at the time.” Penny sighed after getting back on the highway.

“What did you do?” Leonard said.

“That picture you took yesterday? I copied it to my phone.”

“That doesn't sound stupid.”

“I don't mean the copying. But I... kinda... sent it to Cheryl.”

“What? Why would you do that?” Leonard asked, shocked.

“Remember yesterday, when I told you that I like to brag about you to them? I thought it would be fun to make them even more envious by showing us in action. I mean, I had you completely in my mouth so they don't see your tool at all.” Penny explained. “I know it was an irrational thought but I just had mind-blowing sex with you and I just reacted.”

“Ah, what the hell. Let them be envious. As you said, they can't really see anything.” Leonard said, waving his hand.

“Wow, that quite the cavalier attitude.”

“What can I say, I'm a man of many facets.” he grinned.

“Remember not to say some comment in regard to our sexual habits in front of my parents.” she grinned back and concentrated on the road again. The monotony of the landscape combined with the movement of the car soon lulled Leonard back into a light sleep, which Penny didn't want to disturb because he looked too cute.

When Penny crossed the sign for the exit to Lexington, she decided to use the rest stop she was about to pass. When she stopped, Leonard woke up as if on cue, sitting up in surprise.

“Uh, I fell asleep.” he said, rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah you did.” she agreed with a smile while both got out of the car and stretched their legs. “And now that you are well rested, you can drive the rest of the way.”

“Where are we?”

“Almost in Lexington.”

“So we are... about three hours away from Omaha.” Leonard said after doing quick math in his head and looking at his watch. “You were speeding again, weren't you?”

“A bit, yeah. So if you don't slow down too much, we should be at my parents' house by dinner time.” she said and saw Leonard fidgeting a little. “Are you nervous about meeting my parents?”

“A bit, yeah.” he admitted, mirroring her admission earlier word for word.

“Don't worry. They already like you.”

“Maybe. But meeting the man who bangs your daughter?”

“Bangs? Leonard, your language has really devolved since I met you.” she admonished playfully.

“Hm, I wonder what or who might be responsible for that.” he replied and poked out his tongue before getting into the drivers seat, leaving Penny standing open-mouthed for a few seconds until she snapped out of it and got into the passengers seat.

Despite Leonard's assurances that he would wake her upon reaching the outskirts of Omaha, Penny couldn't get to sleep. She felt too giddy to be finally be with her parents again and with every passing mile she got more and more enthusiastic. She pointed out everything she saw and told him a story about it, making him smile at her anticipation.

“We're in Omaha now.” Penny said after they passed the city limits.

“Really? I hadn't figured that.”

“Watch the sarcasm, mister. We can take the route through the outskirts and save us the later afternoon traffic in the center. It's a longer route but it should save time.” she suggested.

“Good idea. Is there a gas station close by? Then we can gas up again, save us some time later.”

“Of course. It's Omaha, there are gas stations everywhere.”

“Watch the sarcasm, lady.” he grinned and they continued on with idle conversation until they reached the gas station.

Leonard once again gassed up and paid the bill, making Penny determined to pay the return trip. It took another twenty minutes until turned into the street at which end the house stood where Penny grew up.

“Imagine the look on my parents face.” she grinned.

“Why?”

“I didn't tell them we were coming.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Well, lets see how that goes.” he said and they pulled up on the driveway. Penny could see her father standing on the lawn next to the house, looking at their car curiously. With a big grin, she unbuckled her seatbelt and bolted from the car.

“DADDY!” she shouted happily and bounced towards the gate, running through it and into the arms of her surprised father, hugging him.

Leonard got out of the car more slowly and walked towards the two, a smile on his lips at Penny's happiness. She heard talking excitedly to her father and waited a few feet away to give them some time.

“Come here son.” Wyatt called him over.

“Good evening Sir.” Leonard said after he walked over the two and extended his hand.

“I already told you to call me Wyatt.” her father said and Leonard was shocked when he was pulled into a bear hug. For a moment he was overwhelmed, the open display of affection a total reverse of his own family.

“Where is mom?” Penny asked.

“She's in the kitchen, fixing dinner I suppose.”

Penny hurried into the house, leaving two of the most important men in her life standing outside. She walked briskly into the kitchen, finding her mother standing at the stove, finishing the preparation of the dinner she was making.

“Mom!” Penny shouted and hugged her mother, who had just enough time to put down the pot she was holding.

“Penny? When did you get here?” Meryl asked her daughter.

“Just a few minutes ago. Leonard and I took a road trip together.”

“Oh, that's so great that he came too. I finally get to meet him. But now, you can help me set the table.”

“Mom, I just got here.”

“And just in time too.” Meryl grinned and handed Penny four sets of dishes, which she took and set on the table. Just as she was done, her father and Leonard walked into the kitchen, Wyatt pointing out a seat for Leonard to sit on.

“I made pasta for dinner. Luckily I planned to use the leftovers tomorrow for lunch, otherwise we wouldn't have enough for all of us.” Meryl said and placed the pots on the table.

“Penny, how come you didn't call?” Wyatt asked. “The last time we spoke you said that it was unlikely that you could come.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise. And Leonard borrowed the car outside from one of his colleagues. It's amazingly comfortable and has an outstanding gas-mileage ratio, so it wasn't as expensive as we thought when split into two.”

“Although the drive itself was tiring, two days on the road really takes it out of you.” Leonard added.

“Well, you're here now. For how long are you staying?”

“The entire next week.” Penny said happily.

“We can go to a hotel if that's a bother.” Leonard stated.

“Nonsense.” Meryl admonished. “You both stay here in Penny's room.”

“Wow, that's an unexpected offer, letting a guy stay in my room with me.” Penny grinned.

“Slugger, you're a grown woman and we have kinda caught you in the act already, remember? Although luckily we only caught the opening teaser.”

“Daddy!” Penny squeaked, her face going beet red while Leonard grinned.

“If you had kept quiet, you could have gotten snacks after ten minutes and then watched the main feature.” Leonard quipped.

“Leonard!” Penny shouted, not believing her boyfriend's audacity in front of her parents. To her surprise, her father laughed out loud while her mother smiled knowingly.

“I like you son.” Wyatt proclaimed. “I like it when someone shows the respect you are showing me but still has the guts to be so open with me.”

“So, you two want to go out tonight, enjoy the Saturday night live of Omaha?” Meryl asked as she cleared the table.

“Actually, we're a bit tired from the drive. I thought we get settled and maybe watch a movie.” Penny said.

“If you want to, no problem. Need any help with your luggage?” her mother asked.

“No, it's okay, we didn't pack that much. I was kinda hoping we could use your washing machine for our used clothes in a few days.”

“Certainly.”

Penny pulled Leonard outside to the car to get their luggage. Before they took it, Wyatt followed them and opened the gate, allowing Leonard to drive the car onto their property. When it was parked, he opened the back and took out their luggage, Penny's father taking some of the bags, freeing them of some of the load.

He led them to Penny's room and deposited the cases on the floor before letting her step inside, Leonard following her. Wyatt winked to Leonard and left them alone, an action that surprised him. Penny closed the door and pushed Leonard against the door, pressing her lips on his and pushing her tongue into his mouth. Before he could react, she pulled back again and jumped on her bed.

“So, this is my room.”

“Really? I wouldn't have guessed.” Leonard grinned and looked around. There were poster on the wall of boy bands of the nineties plus trophies for cheerleading and riding competitions on the shelves.

“Watch that sarcasm.” she grinned and followed his gaze. “Yeah, I was pretty active in my youth. I was always very good at horseback riding.”

“Oh, I know. I love it when you put that knowledge to good use in bed.” he grinned while she stood up.

“You have a dirty mind, Doctor Hofstadter.” she said and kissed him. “I like it.”

She started a romantic movie and heard Leonard groan. She pulled him onto the bed and placed herself between his legs, her back against his chest and enjoyed the bodily contact. The movie ended way too soon for her while Leonard had barely managed to stay awake.

She went into her en suite bathroom and took a shower, washing the grit of the drive from her body. After drying off, she got ready for bed and changed places with Leonard. When she heard the shower run, she sneaked into the bathroom and stole his clothes, hiding them in her room and laying down on her stomach before putting the comforter over her.

The shower stopped and a minute later, she heard the sound of teeth being brushed, before her sweetie came back into the bedroom with a towel around his waist. She looked at him and involuntarily licked her lips, the sight of him in that towel doing things to her that the Penny that used to live here never thought possible. Usually her guys had visible abs but Leonard didn't and still the heat pooled between her legs in a speed so fast it was barely understandable to her.

“Did you take my clothes?” he asked with a pointed look.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” she replied innocently.

“Really?” he said and sat down on the bed, lifting and pushing away the comforter, finding her naked under it. “Are you sure this isn't an attempt at seducing me?”

“Don't you think if I wanted to seduce you, you'd be already groaning under me?” she grinned. “For now, my legs remain closed.”

To underscore her point, she squeezed her legs together but Leonard simply ran his hand over her skin, spreading his fingers wide when he reached her ass. His fingers ran along her inner thighs and center, making Penny shiver but she kept her legs closed, hooking one ankle over the other.

Leonard discarded the towel and swung his right leg over hers, sitting down on her thighs. His hands went to her shoulder and started massaging them, his fingers digging into the muscles in an attempt to relax them. Penny straightened her arms to help him, hear head still turned to the left. She moaned as her muscles relaxed further and Leonard let his hands run down her back, his fingers continuing to press into her muscles.

“Mh, that feels good.” she hummed and could almost feel him smile.

“I'm glad.” he said and surprised her when he suddenly pushed his manhood into her to the hilt, his tip scraping over her g-spot.

“Holy crap, that felt even better.” she squealed and started wiggling her ass to get more friction when he didn't move. He put his hands on her hips and stilled her movements, much to her chagrin, and resumed his massage, while his cock stayed buried deep inside her.

“Leonard, please move.” she sighed and again attempted to cause friction which he again stilled.

“You said, you didn't want to. Therefore I don't see why I should move.” he replied and Penny could imagine his smug smile.

“Leonard!” she admonished. “Please move.”

Her pleading was almost enough to break him. He would never be able to resist her but this time he tried his best to stay strong. He kept up his massage while not moving his hips but fueled her desire even further by using his muscles to make his manhood twitch.

“Leonard, please.” Penny begged and immediately cursed inwardly. He managed to make her beg again. It seemed to have worked because Leonard started moving slowly, pulling almost completely out before pushing back in, equally slowly.

“Faster please.” she said but Leonard kept up his slow pace.

“You sure that you didn't want to seduce me by stealing my clothes and being naked in your bed?” he asked her.

“Pretty sure.” she grinned.

“Very well then.” Leonard sighed and stopped when just the tip remained inside her, his hand going to her hips to still any movement she might wanted to do.

“Leonard!”

“No attempt at seduction, no movement.” he smiled, his hand gliding along her skin.

“Fine, yes, I stole your clothes so I could seduce you, happy now? Now please mo... oh my god!” Penny shouted when Leonard suddenly rammed his cock into her before pounding her in a rapid pace.

His hands went to her shoulders and held her tight, allowing him to penetrate deep into her without having her move on the bed whenever he thrust in. Her arms flailed aimlessly as if she couldn't decide whether to grab his legs to pull him deeper or his arms or something else while he kept pummeling her.

“Oh god! Yes! Yes! Yes! Right there!” she shouted into her pillow, mindful of her parents sleeping a few rooms further down the hall. Every syllable came out in time with a thrust, otherwise she wouldn't be able to get out a coherent sound.

She screamed into the fabric as her first orgasm crashed into her but Leonard didn't let up and kept pounding her through it, quickly bringing her to a second one which he let her ride out before resuming his punishing pace again. She managed to steadily breath for four minutes, enjoying every second of them when she felt her coils tighten again and heard Leonard's breathing change.

“Leonard!” “Penny!” both shouted each others names in unison when they climaxed together, with him spilling deep into her and collapsing on her back, holding her tight while he unloaded. Her hands quickly went to his, intertwining their fingers and simply holding him while he stayed buried inside her.

“That was so amazing.” she panted when both had calmed down.

“It really was. I had sex with Penny in her room. Another fantasy crossed off.” he grinned and kissed her.

“Any other fantasies we can fulfill while in Nebraska?” she asked laughing.

“Yeah, but I don't think your parents would lend us their bedroom.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Of course I am. Now come on, lets get cleaned up.” he said and stood up, pulling out of her while doing that.

“Do we have to? It was so comfortable just now.”

“If we hurry, we can cuddle again.” he said and moved towards the bathroom.

“Lets go!” she replied excitedly and followed him into the bathroom. He was quicker with his cleanup since it only required him to rub a piece of toilet paper around it while hers took a little longer.

When she returned, she found him lying in bed, shorts and shirt on, showing her that he had found them despite her having hid them. She put on some pajama shorts and a shirt of her own and went into bed with him, letting him wrap himself around her body the way she liked it. With a satisfied sigh, she quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Penny woke up the a big smile on her face, thanks to the activities on the previous evening. She was safely enveloped in Leonard's arms, his warmth seeping into her body. She had never told him and would never tell him but she had had the same fantasy of having sex with him in her room too. She turned her head and looked into his sleeping face.

God, how much she loved that man. She just needed to find a way to tell him without fearing that he wouldn't say it back or just say it to placate her. Also she didn't want to blurt it out in either during some argument or when she felt insecure because some other woman chased Leonard. But right now she tried to fight her bladder. She wanted to continue to lie in his arms but on the other hand, if she didn't move soon it could get very embarrassing.

With a groan, she pushed his arm off her and got up, heading into the bathroom with a yawn to relieve the pressure. After she returned, she found Leonard awake and smiling broadly, looking at her with loving eyes and an intensity that made her shiver. His left hand drew circles on the sheets and Penny was about to jump back into bed when someone knocked on her door.

“Penny, are you guys awake?” her mother called through the door, stopping her in her tracks.

“Yeah, just woke up.” she replied back.

“Are you decent?”

“Yes, we are.” Penny said and Meryl came into the room, grinning at Leonard who just waved.

“Breakfast is almost ready. Leonard, do you have any preferences?” Meryl asked.

“I have to avoid dairy products, otherwise I'm okay.” Leonard replied.

“Great. Just be down in five minutes, the coffee will be done then.” Meryl said and turned to leave but stopped. “Oh and don't worry, your father was asleep already last night when you screamed your names at each other.”

“Mom!” Penny whined and dropped her head into her hands while Meryl left laughing.

“I'm so sorry.” Penny said while Leonard kept grinning.

“It's okay. She seems to be okay with it. Now come on, lets get dressed and go down to breakfast.” Leonard said and went into the bathroom himself to do his ablutions and wash up.

Exactly five minutes later, they were sitting at the table with Meryl putting a basket of buns on the table as Leonard poured himself and Penny a cup of coffee. They ate the breakfast mostly in silence, with only some idle conversation in between.

“So, what are you going to do today?” Meryl asked.

“I'm going to show him the city. But I think we will spend most of the week here at the farm, it's really too cold to enjoy the outside properly. Maybe I get a chance at Tornado.” Penny proclaimed.

“Maybe. But be really careful around him, he's pretty wild.” Wyatt said.

“Not to sound mean or ignorant but if he's that recalcitrant, why do you keep him?” Leonard asked.

“Because he's the most beautiful horse I have ever seen.” Wyatt answered. “But during the last few weeks I think I learned why he's so stubborn. I think Thompson forgot to tell me that he used to be a rodeo horse once. After breakfast I will let him out to run.”

They finished their breakfast and Meryl commanded Penny to help clean the table, in the same breath forbidding Leonard to help. Penny watched her father drag Leonard out of the room, wondering what kind of talk he would heap on her boyfriend.

“Mom, who else is coming to your birthday?” Penny asked.

“Well, you, Leonard, your aunt Lucy and uncle Mike, plus aunt Shelly and uncle Theo. That's about it.”

“What about Bridget? I know Scott is in jail right now but I thought I was going to see my sister again.”

“She's in Iowa right now. Her boss has a conference and as his assistant, she had to go.”

“Aw, that's too bad.”

“Yeah. But kind of good for you, you know what she would have done to Leonard.”

“Come on, is she still like that? Leonard is the best guy I have ever met.”

“I believe you. But you know how she is.” Meryl said. “You love him, don't you?”

“Yes.” she replied without hesitation. “I just need to figure out how to tell him. I want it to be special.”

“No, you just want it to end in a night like the one you had yesterday.” Meryl winked as Penny blushed hard.

“Mom, please, if you keep talking about my sex life, I will take Leonard and go back to Pasadena.”

“Relax, we're done anyway. No go be with your boyfriend.” Meryl said and Penny hurried out of the kitchen.

She found both of them them in the living room, her father regaling him with tales about her childhood, making Leonard laugh. With horror, she noticed the photo album with her baby and childhood pictures on Leonard's lap.

“Daddy. Embarrassing me already?” Penny admonished and sat down sideways on Leonard's lap.

“Relax Penny.” Leonard said. “You were a cute kid?”

“Were?” she asked, raising her eyebrow. “Am I not anymore?”

“No. Now you are a extraordinarily beautiful woman.”

“Uh, nice save.” she said happily and kissed him.

“Okay, you two.” Wyatt started. “I have to go out now to feed the animals. Have fun in the city.”

“We will, dad.” Penny said to her father as he left the room. “Come on, sweetie.”

They went back to her room and got some warm clothes from their luggage before they went out to their car after Penny had given her mom a heads-up that they were leaving. As they were driving down the road, Leonard turned to Penny.

“By the way, did your friends ever reply to that picture you sent them?”

“Oh, I never checked my phone since Denver.” Penny admitted and got it out of her purse, unlocking the screen and finding several messages from both Cheryl and Kim. “Wow, they were quite inventive with some of the terms.”

“Why, what did they say?”

“Well, the first reply to the picture was a collection of emoticons, mostly in the devilish range. The rest are threats to me about taking you away from me but they are combined with smileys, so I know they don't mean it. And the last ones... never mind.”

“Why, what's in them?” he asked and Penny sighed, unsure if she should read them aloud. “Come on, tell me.”

“Fine. They say, and I quote “Tell Leonard, we can do that for him too, even longer and deeper, if he's willing to let us”. They are really jealous.”

“Well, write them back that I'm willing.” he grinned.

“WHAT?”

“To do that only with Penny.” he finished.

“You are mean.” she pouted.

“Punish me.” he poked out his tongue.

“Oh, I intend to. But maybe not here in Nebraska with my parents a thirty feet away.”

“Point taken. Okay, where to?”

Penny gave Leonard some directions and made him stop at a shopping mall. She excitedly got out of the car and almost pulled him into the building, pointing out the stores she wanted to go in to, which where, to his lack of surprise, exclusively clothing or shoe stores.

As he had predicted before they had reached Denver, she went shopping, while he was her bag holder, standing outside the changing rooms waiting for her to present herself in yet another item of clothing that she usually dismissed outright. He did enjoy the third store they went into because the changing rooms were big enough for him to wait inside of, a fact she used to indulge him not only by changing slowly but also by picking out and trying on several pairs of underwear.

After buying a g-string whose fabric seemed to have less mass than a postage stamp, they went to a Chinese restaurant that set up shop on the fourth floor of the mall. As they were sitting at the table and eating their food, Leonard saw a guy approaching them.

“Penny!” the man said, greeting her with a smile.

“Tony? Is that you?” Penny asked the guy, shaking his hand.

“Yeah. Haven't seen you since high school, what are you doing here?”

“'It's my mom's birthday this week.” she explained.

“Hey, you want to meet up later, you know, for old times sake?” Tony asked and Penny could imagine what old times he was alluding to.

“Tony, this is my boyfriend Leonard.” Penny said pointedly, emphasizing the word boyfriend.

“Hi there.” Tony said and shook Leonard's hand. “Oh... oh, no no, the old times sake wasn't meant like you thought. I'm married now.” he continued, showing her the ring.

“That's nice. To Tracy?” she asked.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Do you think it was a secret that you have been pining for her in high school? It was a recurrent topic during our slumber parties and girls nights.”

“I wasn't that obvious.”

“You would think. But it was kinda funny to watch you make your attempts for her affections.”

“Hey, it worked out at the end.”

“Congratulations. But I don't think I have the time. I get to spend way too little time with my parents anyway and it's her birthday on Wednesday.”

“I understand.”

“Tell her hi from me, okay?”

“Will do. Bye Penny.” Tony said and left.

“So, I guess you went out with him in high school.” Leonard stated.

“Only once.” she confirmed.

“And you had sex with him.” he stated again, not asking a question.

“Yes.” she admitted, embarrassment audible.

“Ah well, we all have our pasts.” he shrugged.

“What, is there a bunch of women out there who are reminiscing about sex with the mighty stud called Leonard?” she grinned.

“Not that many. There's Joyce Kim, Nancy who was a freshman at CalTech which she chose not to mention when we went out and Priya of course. Leslie you already know.”

“Who is Priya? That sound's Asian.”

“She's Raj's sister.”

“Wait a second. You slept with Raj's sister?” she asked shocked.

“Only three times. And it was before you and I met. Sometimes when she's in the area during a layover, we would meet up for the night. But I haven't seen her in years. I don't even have her phone number.”

“Relax. I'm not going to bite your head off because you had other women before me.”

“Well, I'm more worried that you bite a smaller piece of my body off.” he admitted, which made Penny laugh.

“Your buddy is safe, I need that thing to be attached to you for maximum effect.”

They finished their meal with more idle conversation and Penny was again marveled at the fact how fast time flew by when she was with Leonard. If her feet hadn't been enclosed in tight boots, she would have run her foot over his leg all the time but still, she was immensely glad to be sitting here with him.

The entire trip had been a blast so far, just being with him in the car had been a great time, even though one of them had been sleeping most of the time. She would gladly spend an entire day in bed with him, even without sex, just lying in his arms was enough to make her happy. But that he had gone to the trouble to take a week off and getting this car just to enable her to spend her mother's birthday with her mother instead of just congratulating on phone was another indicator that he was her last boyfriend.

Even if they would break up, something she would fight tooth and nail to prevent, there wasn't a man on earth left to make her feel the same way Leonard did. His mixture of generosity, kindness, shyness and his amazing ability in bed made him a combination that could hardly be duplicated in another man.

Penny dragged him to the nearest shoe store and started to try on shoes, something Leonard got extremely bored of when she paraded the twentieth pair in front of him. She was currently looking at a particularly gorgeous pair of boots when she noticed Leonard doing something on his laptop to which he had attached some sort of black flat thing which she assumed was an external hard drive.

“What are you doing?” she asked him.

“Oh, I'm doing some work for my next sets of experiments. I thought, having a few papers to do while you shop for shoes was a good idea.”

“Was that a hidden remark on my desire for shopping for shoes?” she asked.

“Yes.” he said, poking out his tongue.

“Come on, it's not that bad.”

“Penny, it's five in the afternoon. You have been trying on shoes for three hours straight.”

“Say what?” she squealed. “Oh my god, why didn't you tell me.”

“You looked so happy.”

“Leonard, I didn't want to spend the entire day in a mall.”

“It's okay, we're here for the entire week, remember?” Leonard calmed her.

“Come on, lets go.” Penny said but still grabbed one of the two pairs of shoes she had put on her greed pile, using a coin to choose between them. She really wanted the boots but they were extremely expensive, not to mention that she already had the one pair at home that Leonard had bought for her.

They returned to the car and drove back to the house, with Penny giddily swapping pictures of her new shoes with Cheryl and Kim while Leonard was behind the wheel. All was well until Penny suddenly let out a string of curses.

“What's wrong?” Leonard asked her as he drove onto the property of her parents and under the car port.

“I accidentally sent out a few of the pictures we have taken of each other together.” she admitted.

“And?”

“Well, it's in some certain positions...”

“Oh oh. Which ones?” he repeated

She showed him the pictures and he coughed as he remembered the night they had taken them. The first picture showed Leonard sitting against the headboard and Penny almost doing the splits while his mouth was pressed between her legs. Another picture showed her in the process of blowing him with half his manhood inside her and visible joy in her eyes.

The rest of the pictures were of them in various sexual positions but nothing that the other two girls hadn't seen before in the videos they had stolen. Despite the fact that they now had a camcorder which to record their nightly activities on, they still used their phones to snap the occasional picture.

Leonard helped Penny bring her shopping bags inside, getting a knowing look and smile from Wyatt. After they had stored them in Penny's room, both came back down and went into the living room where Wyatt had made himself comfortable on the couch.

“Tornado is back in his stable, clean and tired.” he proclaimed.

“Sorry, time flew by while we were out.” Penny apologized.

“No problem. It's not like you're leaving tomorrow.” Wyatt said. “Speaking of which, whatever you have planned for tomorrow is probably off the table.”

“Why?” Penny asked. Instead of answering, Wyatt pointed at the TV where a weather report was currently airing, announcing the arrival of a storm system with heavy rainfall and biting wind during the night which would last the entire next day. “Great. So we basically can only sit around the house.”

“Will be a nice change of pace.” Leonard said. “I have always been against forcing yourself to do something, just because you are away from home.”

“Yeah, listen to him, sweetheart.” Wyatt agreed. “You have your own fireplace in your room, enjoy it. I'll bring you some coal later so you have some embers during the night and Leonard can get some wood.”

“Actually, that's an amazing idea, daddy.” Penny agreed as Meryl called them to dinner.

They sat down around the table, enjoying a healthy portion of lentil stew Meryl had made using her pressure cooker. More idle conversation flew by with Penny telling them about Tony while Leonard tried to explain some of his work to her parents, with varying lack of success.

Penny bid her parents good night and pulled Leonard with her into her room. Just as he promised, Wyatt got Leonard and made him fetch some firewood while he brought up a few lumps of coal for her fireplace. Not knowing what else to do with a storm on its way, they decided to make a movie night. To get ready for bed, Penny went into her bathroom to take a shower.

After she was done, she came back out and saw Leonard working at her TV, proudly proclaiming to have managed to hook his laptop up to her TV so they could watch the movies he had saved on it on her bigger screen. While he showered, she went back down and grabbed several bags of snacks and drinks, taking them upstairs with her.

Leonard was still in the bathroom, probably drying himself off so Penny went to his laptop and scrolled through the movies he had on there. Every Japanese animated movie was already off the table and the rest were mostly science fiction or fantasy. Not wanting to watch Star Wars or Star Trek, she chose the first Lord of the Rings movie in its extended version.

She started the movie and put it on pause, waiting for Leonard to return while she took off her pants and went into the bed. It took only another minute and soon enough Leonard exited her bathroom, the sound of her toilet flushing telling her what he did after the shower. She emptied a bag of chips into a bowl and placed a six-pack of drinks on her nightstand.

“You want to start a fire now?” Leonard asked her.

“No, lets snuggle under the blanket. We can start it tomorrow.”

“Alright. What are we watching?”

“Lord of the Rings. The first one.”

“Really?” he asked happily.

“Yeah. Would it kill you to have some Jennifer Aniston movies on there?”

“Yeah, it would. I'd rather have a naked picture of Howard's mom tattooed on the inside of my eyelids.”

“Don't exaggerate. They are not that bad.”

Laughing, Leonard attached the receiver to his wireless mouse to the laptop and grabbed the remote to control both appliances without the need to get up. He got into her bed where Penny made room for him to lean against the headboard so she could place her head on his chest. Leonard started the movie and the room was filled with the sound of Galadriel recounting the history of the ring. She took a deep breath snuggled deeper into his embrace.

After two hours, she had trouble keeping her eyes open. The combination of a movie that was undoubtedly great but not so much her favorite topic, her full stomach and the presence of the man she loved in her arms lulled her further and further away from being awake. She decided that it wouldn't be so bad just to rest her eyes for a minute.

When she was done resting her eyes and reopened them, it was dark in the room. As she wondered what had made her open her eyes, the rumble of thunder in the distance told her enough and she became aware of the sound of rain hitting her window. She lifted her head and tried to find her phone, finding it on the nightstand before checking the clock.

It was after two in the morning. Apparently she had fallen asleep during the movie and Leonard had simply shut off the laptop and TV and then the light without waking her. While she was grateful for that, she also was a bit miffed since she now desperately needed to pee. She swung her legs over him to get out of the bed just as a bolt of lightning illuminated the room and shuffled into the bathroom, relieving herself and brushing her teeth before washing up a bit.

When she returned to the bedroom, she saw Leonard sitting on the foot of the bed, closing the laptop and putting his wireless mouse on top of it. She knelt down behind him and kissed him on the neck.

“Did I wake you?” she asked him.

“Yes, but it's okay. I need to use the bathroom anyway. And frankly, there are a lot of things worse to wake up to with what your panties are covering close to my eyes.” he replied with a smile as he got up to go into the bathroom himself.

When Leonard returned, he found her kneeling of the bed, waiting for him. He could only see her silhouette with the comforter draped around her shoulders and not thinking anything of it, he laid back down on the bed, expecting her to resume her place by cuddling back into him. She did as he thought and placed her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arm and leg around his body. Her head lifted up to his and she looked at him with adoring eyes.

“Leonard, thank you for bringing me here this week.” she said and her hand went to the side of his face.

“You're very welcome.” he replied and looked down at her.

She pushed her body up a few inches and captured his lips with hers. For a few seconds the kiss stayed chaste before his tongue begged for entrance which she immediately granted. They kept kissing for several minutes before she broke the kiss and put her head back on his chest. While she wouldn't have objected to some more sex, she was quite tired and after only a few seconds of listening to his heartbeat, she fell back asleep.

* * *

When Penny woke up the next day, she was alone in her bed. She looked around, the room illuminated by daylight although the weather outside was as bad as the news report the day before had announced. She did her bathroom routine and walked downstairs, finding her mother sitting on the couch in the living room, reading a book.

“Look who fell out of bed.” Meryl said to her daughter.

“Where's Leonard?” Penny asked.

“Good morning to you too. Your father dragged him into the garage to ask him about something that has to do with physics. And he let Leonard drive the tractor.”

“Really?” Penny laughed. “Are all the fences still standing?”

“I haven't heard anything crash.” her mother replied. “But since you are well rested now, you can peel the potatoes for lunch.”

“Mom! This is supposed to be a vacation.” Penny whined.

“Not here it's not. Now get going, missy, we're having steak.” Meryl ordered and Penny complied after learning that they would be eating the one type of red meat she loved. As she was busy peeling, she heard the door open and her father and Leonard entered the house. She cocked her ears to listen what they were talking about.

“I'm telling you, he's lying to you.” she heard Leonard argue.

“I have known him for half my life, why would he lie?” her father shot back, making Penny wonder what they were arguing about.

“Who knows? But you can drop your energy bill to almost zero if you install a geothermal heat pump and combine it with solar panels.”

“How would that work?”

“They drill three holes into the earth between fifty and four hundred feet. The temperature down there is stable no matter the air temperature due to thermal inertia. Therefore you can use it to heat your house and any other structure to a stable temperature of about fifty to sixty-eight degrees.”

“Really?” she heard her father say and even Penny was surprised. The two men came into the kitchen for some refreshment and Penny flashed a brilliant smile to Leonard, which he returned before bringing his attention back to Wyatt.

“Yes. And since the system also works in the summer and keeps the temperature on that level, you can save yourself an air conditioner. If the temperature in the winter is too cold for you, you still have your fireplaces.”

“But isn't that expensive machinery?”

“To a point. You get a thirty percent tax credit when you install it. It takes between five and ten years for it to pay for itself and from then on you basically save money because you don't have any heating bills.”

“What about the electricity costs for this pump?” her father objected.

“Negligible, since you already have a pump running almost constantly because of your well. You simply install an extra pipe. Also, since you use water exclusively instead of propane or oil or natural gas, there is no danger of combustion or flames or fumes or carbon monoxide leaks.”

“Alright, alright.” Wyatt said and lifted his arms in surrender. “You made your point. Next week I will talk to a friend about a system like this. You certainly made some really good points.”

“The initial hurdle is primarily the money you need. And getting the permits but that shouldn't be that hard because it's your property and it doesn't affect anyone due to the vertical drilling.”

“Enough talk you two.” Meryl interrupted when she stepped into the kitchen and turned to Wyatt. “We're cooking lunch now and then Leonard and Penny can spend their day in front of her fireplace as you suggested.”

When the men were gone, Penny put water into the pot with the potatoes and set them on the stove. She then prepared the large pan that they needed for the stakes and her mouth watered when she saw the four big slabs of meat. She shook her head at herself for being a vegetarian but still feel the hankering for a big steak, especially when her mother made them.

When the steaks were in the pan, sizzling away, she went to her room to get dressed in some more casual clothes. On her way to the stairs, she saw Leonard and her father sitting at the living room table, playing cards and going by her fathers hand movements and Leonard's smile, whatever they were playing, Leonard was winning.

* * *

“So, what will you do today in this weather?” Wyatt asked after they were done eating.

“What you suggested.” Penny replied. “Get a fire going in my fireplace and watch TV. Leonard has quite the selection on his laptop.”

“No funny business!” Wyatt ordered.

“Oh, I don't have that many comedies on there. It's more science fiction and fantasy.”

“Not what I meant.”

“I know.” Leonard grinned. “But we don't usually laugh during THAT business.”

Penny's mouth dropped when Leonard said that but she was even more astonished when her father laughed as well. He was never this cool to anyone she went out with, the thought of his little girl being a grown woman and doing what grown women did always grating on him.

“At least keep the decibel level low.” Wyatt muttered.

“Daddy!” Penny spoke up.

“Relax sweetheart. We caught you in the opening act, remember?”

“This is not happening.” Penny muttered with her head in her hands while her father laughed again.

Before either of them could embarrass her any further, Penny pulled Leonard to her room. As her father had suggested, she put some lumps of coal into the fireplace and covered them with wood before she got the fire going, letting it spread a comforting warmth through the room.

They moved the couch closer to the fireplace, two foot rests in front of it and the TV to the correct angle. Despite her lack of interest in fantasy or science fiction, she wanted to know how the story went on. Also, Orlando Bloom was hot. They sat down on the couch and Penny threw a blanket over them as they stretched out.

Partway through the second movie, they both did a bathroom break but after Leonard had sat down again, she decided she wanted more bodily contact with him and sat down on his lap, her back leaning against his chest. After she stretched her legs out again, her weight was pressed down exactly where she wanted it to be and she started to wiggle her ass on him to get a reaction which wasn't long in coming.

His hands went around her waist and stilled her for the moment, confusing her. She started her own movement again but once more he stopped her from letting it go further. With a frown, she turned his head towards him.

“Leonard? Is something wrong?”

“Not really, why?”

“Because you stop me from moving.”

“Yeah, I want to prevent myself from taking you right here and now.”

“Why would you want to prevent that? I was kinda hoping for it? You're already hard and big, so why not use it?” she asked him.

“Because as much as I love having sex with you as often as possible, I'd rather not do it when you parents could either knock on your door or come in directly. It's different at night when they are asleep but right now...”

“Oh, yeah that would be weird. Although mom heard us when we did it on Sunday. Or rather, she heard our big finish.”

“Oh no, really?”

“Relax, she was cool about it. And it's your fault they heard us.”

“Why mine?” he asked.

“Because you are so fucking good in bed that I can't keep quiet.”

“You managed it well at the beginning.”

“I was screaming into the pillow!” she said exasperated and Leonard broke out into a smug grin. “And watch that grin.”

“Why? I'm proud of that.”

“Yeah, well, have you any idea what kind of looks I get from the old lady who lives in the apartment below mine?”

“Longing and envy?”

“No, smirks and condemnation.”

“My version sounds better.” he smirked. “But if you really want, I can pleasure you as much as you want tonight.”

“If I really want? Leonard, I want it right now. But remember, you need to be the active part, I can't ride you.”

“Why not?” he pouted.

“Because I need something in my face to muffle the sounds.”

“You managed well when we did it in my bedroom after your Halloween party.”

“That was way too hard to do to repeat it.”

They stopped talking and went back to watching the movie. As it started to reach its climax, Leonard's hands, that were still on her stomach, went under her shirt and started rubbing small circles on her skin. On its downward path, the little finger of his right hand skimmed under both her sweatpants and her panties, making her unable to stop gyrating slightly to meet the movement and get it where she wanted. As an added bonus, she felt Leonard getting hard again and pressed herself down even harder.

“God dammit.” Leonard cursed and pushed her forward before fumbling with his pants. Penny wondered what he was doing and was surprised when he pulled her back up and quickly pushed down her pants and panties in one swoop before he grabbed between them and pushed his erection into her, their position allowing him to go in to the hilt, using his hands to press her down as hard as possible.

“Oh god!” Penny squealed at the sudden contact before she relaxed into it. Staying in her position, she allowed Leonard to move her body with his hands, the penetration deeper than ever before. She really had to remember this position for later use. Her grinding allowed him to constantly stimulate her g-spot and as the Rohirrim on screen drove away the Uruk-hai, she felt the coil tighten in that familiar manner that announced an impending release of endorphins. Yet, Leonard's initial reluctance proved to be wise when suddenly her door opened after two quick knocks.

“Hey slugger, you mother asks if you two want some coffee. And she could need your help in the kitchen.” her father said to her after taking a step inside and seeing them both sitting completely still on the couch under the blanket, their gazes glued to the TV.

“Yeah, I'll come down after the movie is over.” she managed to say in a normal fashion.

“It's only a few more minutes.” Leonard added, also with great difficulty keeping his voice even.

“Okay, see you then.” Wyatt said and left the room, clueless as to what he walked into.

“Holy crap on a cracker!” Penny cursed and got up, pulling up her panties and pants before smoothing her sweater.

“Yeah.” Leonard said and took deep breaths while Penny watched his erection receding quickly, the shock of her father interrupting them equal to a bucket of ice water.

After they were decent enough, they went down and had some coffee with her parents, with Leonard almost inhaling the poppy seed pie her mom had placed on the table. When they were done, Penny stayed down and helped her mother prepare the pies for her birthday the next day while both Wyatt and Leonard excused themselves. She desperately hoped that the evening would come quickly so she could finish what they had started before.

* * *

When Penny woke up on Wednesday morning, she couldn't stop smiling. After she had been done helping her mother and eating dinner, she had again retreated to her room to find Leonard at his laptop, working on something. Since the weather was still against doing anything outside, they had snuggled back on the couch to watch Love Happens, which Leonard had added to his Netflix account, making Penny happy that he now had at least one Jennifer Aniston movie available to watch.

After the sky had gone dark, they had doused the fire, the embers giving off a great amount of residual warmth, and moved into her bed, where he made her watch one of the Star Trek movies and gave her a running commentary about how great it would be to have an energy shield.

She had barely heard a word, her concentration completely used up by his hand running over her bare ass under her pajama shorts, squeezing it every time it reached its nadir. When she couldn't take it anymore, she had grabbed the remote and shut off the TV and made him keep his promise from before to pleasure her as much as she wanted.

She had held him to his word by getting comfortable on his face, letting his tongue bring her to orgasm several times, his ministrations making her efforts to keep quiet a real chore. After her fourth orgasm, she had turned around, doing the sixty-nine position for several minutes, enjoying his tongue while she got to show him how much fun it was for her to return the favor.

True to her word, she had let him take the active part, her mouth always in contact with something to muffle her screams of pleasure. After getting mercilessly pounded from behind like on Sunday night, they finished in the missionary position, his mouth covering hers while she screamed out her climax before she took him with her.

Now it was Wednesday and their trip was halfway over. Today was the day her mother had her birthday and she would see her aunts and uncles again. Yet she didn't want to get out of the bed, out of Leonard's arms. But as it has before, her bladder made it battle she would lose every time and with great reluctance she extricated herself from his arms to do her morning routine.

After returning, she found Leonard awake again, the low comforter revealing his chest where she had left some bite marks in the previous night. He once more had a big smile on his face, an expression she couldn't prevent from mirroring.

“So, were your expectations fulfilled last night?” he asked.

“Yeah, more than fulfilled. Excelled in fact. I'm always amazed how you can do me for so long but also be done in five minutes if you want.”

“I always think about how great you look or how amazing you feel when you climax. Although you feel amazing all the time.”

Smiling, Penny went back onto the bed and laid down on him, their naked bodies touching from top to bottom. She pressed her lips on his and sighed into it, the satisfaction evident in her tone. She could feel his manhood hardening again and grinned in anticipation when her door suddenly opened.

“Oh dear.” her mother screamed and quickly turned around and left the room, leaving Leonard and Penny scrambling for some clothes.

“Mom! Haven't you heard of knocking?” Penny shouted

“It's my house, remember?” Meryl replied. “Are you decent now?”

“Yes, come in.” Penny said when she and Leonard were dressed in some casual clothes again.

“I wanted to get you so you can help me fix lunch. The others are arriving soon.” her mother told her.

“Fix lunch? What time is it?” Penny asked surprised.

“It's after eleven. I guess you stayed up late last night.” Meryl said, making Leonard cough and Penny blush at the memories of last night.

“Let me get dressed.” she said dejected as her mother left the room before she turned to Leonard. “I am so sorry.”

“It's okay. Gives you the chance to make it up to me next time.” he grinned.

“Did you just ask me for a blowjob?”

“No, but that's a good idea.” he grinned and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Penny smiling as she went downstairs to help her mother.

It was less than an hour later when her relatives arrived, greeting her with enthusiasm while warmly welcoming Leonard into the family. Penny had to suppress tears when she saw her aunts hugging Leonard and made him feel so comfortable. She also smiled at the wording of her relatives and it felt so right that they saw him as family because she vowed that one day they would stand here in this room with matching rings on their fingers.

While they were eating, Leonard got into a discussion with her uncle Mike and she remembered that Mike was a physics teacher in a local high school. She couldn't stop a laugh when Mike tried to impress Leonard with his knowledge only to have it thrown back at him when Leonard talked about his experiments, leaving Mike dumbstruck before they got into a discussion about the intricacies of thermodynamics in an urban environment to which Penny zoned out.

When they were done eating, the women cleaned the table, her aunts and mother gossiping about some neighbor of theirs while her dad and uncle Theo talked about football. Leonard and uncle Mike were still busy with their discussion, even missing that their plates were removed from under their noses.

While Leonard and Mike continued their discussion, having moved to the application of high energy lasers, Penny was dragged into the living room by her aunts and compelled to recount, in minute detail, how she met Leonard. She told them all, omitting the parts that they shouldn't hear, making them tear up when she told them about the weekend when they became steady.

She showed them some of the pictures of them on her phone, the one in the folder she marked as chaste enough to be viewed by everyone. But before her aunts could ask any further questions, her father saved her by telling the group that it was almost time for the afternoon coffee, surprising Penny that so much time had already passed again.

As the group was sitting in the living room, Penny watched her mom opening the presents of her aunts. That's when the uncomfortable and surprising fact hit her that she had totally forgotten to buy her mom a birthday present.

“Our present is still upstairs, I'll go get it.” Leonard said, getting a look from Penny.

“I'll go with you.” she said and followed him upstairs and into her room. She watched him as he grabbed a wonderfully wrapped gift from one of his bags.

“What the hell? When did you buy my mom a present?”

“When you were in that shoe store. I went out, bought this and came back.”

“I didn't even realize that you had gone out.”

“I kinda got that when you didn't comment on it.” he grinned and led her back downstairs. “Here. This is from Penny and me.” Leonard said, making Penny feel a bit guilty since she didn't even know what he got for her mother.

She watched her mother unwrap the present with delicate movements. She knew her mother was one of those people who didn't want to tear wrapping paper. When she reached the box inside, Penny's curiosity grew and she was a bit confused when her mother pulled something that looked like a picture frame out of the box.

“Thank you.” Meryl said. “What is it? A very small TV?”

“No.” Leonard laughed. “It's a digital picture frame. Here, let me show you.”

Leonard took the frame to plug it into a socket and placed it on the cabinet. He pressed a button and the frame showed a picture of a young Penny posing for the camera. After a few seconds, the picture changed to a laughing Penny on a horse. Another few seconds later, it changed again, this time one of Penny with her parents, a horseback riding trophy in her hands while her parents looked on proud.

“That is such a great gift. Thank you so much.” a teary Meryl said and hugged both Penny and Leonard.

“You can put any picture on there that you want as long as you have it in digital form. We used all the pictures Penny had and they change every five seconds. You can increase the speed that they change with by pressing the plus button and slow them down with the minus button. And there's a stop button in the middle, if you want a certain picture to stay visible. The two buttons on the top let you scroll through the pictures manually.” Leonard explained, making Penny uneasy at the use of the word 'We' when he had been the one doing it alone.

Even Penny couldn't suppress a tear from falling. That gift really was extraordinarily thoughtful and her love for that man multiplied exponentially. She just had to find a way to tell him, as soon as possible. After everyone had calmed down, they resumed their conversation and Penny used the opportunity to pull Leonard away.

“How did you get all those pictures on there?” she asked. “You told my mother that you used all the pictures I have but since you bought it only two days ago, we know that's not true.”

“I did it yesterday when you were helping your mom with the pies. I used the photo albums your dad showed me and digitized every picture I could find.”

“You did all that in three hours? How?”

“I took pictures of your pictures with my phone, highest resolution, cut out the black edges and they were done.”

“Holy crap, you're amazing.”

“Thank you. I'm glad she likes it.”

“Are you kidding? I've never seen her cry after getting a gift. I think you're safe now, even if they do catch us having sex.”

“Good to know.” he grinned.

An hour later, her relatives bid their goodbyes, leaving them in the house. They used the leftovers from lunch for dinner and after watching a movie in the living room, Penny dragged Leonard back into her room, the knowing smile of her mother following her upstairs.

That night, Penny showed him her appreciation by proving him once again how much she had learned in terms of pleasing him with her mouth before making the sacrifice of staying quiet while riding him hard until he couldn't hold it in anymore.

* * *

Thursday began like the other days, with them wrapped naked around each other, the warmth from the fireplace turning their sleeping garments into annoying pieces of fabric. She felt sore all over her body and had that delicious ache between her legs, telling her about the amazing night she had had. Even now, she could feel his morning erection poking her but as much as she wanted to indulge him, she simply couldn't after last night.

She hadn't let him go to sleep for a while. After riding him to oblivion, she had kept him awake by kissing him until she felt him get ready again, something she had helped along by blowing him hard until ordering him to mount her. She had repeated that twice more until three in the morning, when she herself was so exhausted that fell asleep while she had tried to get him ready for round number five.

“Good morning.” he mumbled and moved against her, causing her to shiver.

“Hey stud.” she grinned. “Looks like you're ready again.”

“If you're offering yourself, sure.”

“Sorry sweetie, I'm really aching down there.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.” he said, concern evident.

“Nonsense, it's the best kind of ache. I can't believe how much you exhausted me.”

“Yeah, that was a fun to watch when you fell asleep.” Leonard said and showed her his phone. She looked at the screen and saw the picture of herself asleep on his crotch, his semi-erect manhood partially in her mouth, making her blush.

“Oh god, I thought I dreamed that.”

“No, that happened. Was a little bit disappointing and a lot hilarious.”

“I know of a way to remedy the disappointment part.” she purred and grabbed his manhood, stroking him until she felt him grow even harder.

“Penny, you don't have to do that.” he said but still inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.

“I know.” she replied and slid down his body until her head was over his crotch again.

She didn't waste any time and took him in, the familiar feeling of his manhood inside her mouth giving her pleasure beyond her own understanding. She wrapped her fingers around the base and started bobbing her head up and down, using her tongue to run along its length and letting it swirl around the tip.

Leonard for his part couldn't believe the transformation his girlfriend had done in the past few months. After they had met, it had taken almost three months until she had first blown him as part of foreplay when she had spent the night in his bed after her Halloween party. From then on, it became a more regular occurrence during foreplay but it had taken the combination of his birthday and mother nature's interference to make her blow him to climax for the first time.

She had told him then that it would be a very rare event and it was true, at least until that fateful week of her period, if one excluded the drunken incident. From then on, it had become a monthly event but she still did it with the goal of longer sex a day later.

But here she was, her head descending on his little buddy with a delight that belied her earlier reservations. While her mouth was incapable of doing it, her cheekbones and eyes told him that she was smiling as she sucked and quietly moaned. If Penny hadn't locked the door the night before, he might have stopped her.

Penny started to deepthroat him with every downward movement, her lips clamping down on his base and her tongue poked out to lick at the area between his balls while she stayed down as long as she could. Suddenly, her hunch paid off when suddenly someone knocked at her door again before attempting to open the door. That's when Penny did something that made him almost lose it right then and there. She groaned and the vibrations that it caused to his tip that was touching her throat felt so amazing, it was unbelievable.

“Penny?” her mother called through the door, her surprise at the locked door evident.

“What mom?” Penny shouted back after releasing him with a plop, while her hand kept stroking him.

“Are you decent?”

“The door is locked, what do you think?”

“Just wanted to tell you that lunch is almost ready. Ten minutes.”

“We'll be there.” Penny said and Leonard heard her mother go back down the stairs. “Sorry about that.”

“It's okay.” Leonard replied and expected Penny to get up.

To his surprise, she simply shook her head at her mother's behavior and opened her mouth to take him into her mouth again, resuming her deep and fast movements. He was amazed at how cool she was about the fact that her mother had more or less interrupted them but here she was, smiling with her eyes while she blew him.

Since they had only a short time left, she increased her speed and used her hand to stroke him in sync with her head movement. He felt his climax coming on, his hips moving against her on their own volition. Having learned enough about him, she knew the signs and lifted her head, keeping the tip inside her as he unloaded into her with a loud groan.

She waited until he was done and then quickly got up to run into her bathroom and spit his spill into her sink. He followed her on shaky legs and both freshened up before getting dressed and heading down to the kitchen, getting a knowing look with raised eyebrows from her mother while her father was clueless.

“There you two are.” Wyatt said as they entered. “It seems you spend most of your time here sleeping.”

“Movie night went longer than expected.” Penny replied as explanation.

“You didn't miss much, there was a downpour this morning, which would have kept you inside anyway.” Wyatt added.

“Is there a reason that the reception is so bad in here?” Leonard asked, holding his phone.

“Yeah, we have a small vein of some metallic ore running below our property. Not enough for anyone to start mining it but its proximity to the surface is causing all kinds of havoc to wireless connections. That's why we use land lines for phones and internet. You need to be on the north side of it to get an acceptable reception, it's the highest point.”

“Okay thanks. I will try after lunch.”

“Who do you need to call?”

“I have several missed calls. Sheldon, Sheldon again, Professor Brinkman, Sheldon again, Frank and Sheldon again.”

Meryl placed the lasagna on the table and the group started eating. Penny watched the others and smiled to herself at the domesticity of the scene. Her family had completely accepted Leonard, with her mother even cool with catching them in very intimate situations. As soon as they were done eating, her father and Leonard excused themselves for some tasks while her mother held her back to prevent her from leaving.

Meryl pointed to the sink and with a grumble, Penny went to work, rinsing the pots and pants while Meryl cleaned the kitchen. While she washed and dried the dishes, she saw Leonard walking north on her parents' property, trying to find a good place for reception. He went into the empty area where her father lets the animals graze in the summer and his posture changed into one of a person who was talking on his cellphone so it seemed that he had finally found a place with enough reception.

It took her twenty minutes to finish washing the dishes, some of the dishes hard to clean since they were sitting in the sink since the birthday party. She excused herself and went into the hallway just as her father reentered the house.

“Hey dad. Everything okay?” she asked him.

“Yeah. Just let Tornado out to run. Because of this mornings downpour he was even more agitated than usual.”

“Wait, didn't you say he charges at anyone he sees?”

“Yeah, although I'm amazed that he stops at the fence, even though he could jump right over it. Why do you ask?”

“Dad! Leonard is on the field because he wanted to call someone, remember?” Penny asked and quickly put on some rubber boots that were standing next to the door, ignoring a jacket in her worry. She heard her father curse and follow her but Penny heeded him no mind as she ran towards to the cow pasture where his father lets the horse run every day that it's possible.

“LEONARD!” she shouted as loud as she could when she reached the wooden fence and saw her boyfriend standing on top of the gentle slop, pocketing his phone, just as her father draped a jacket over her.

Leonard didn't seem to realize the situation he was in because he started to walk nonchalantly towards them. Penny pointed frantically behind him until he finally turned around to look at what she was pointing at. Penny watched him get still and everything went into slow motion as Tornado charged at the man she loved. She screamed and attempted to climb over the fence, the rain-slick wood making it hard to climb.

Then something happened that stupefied both of them. The wild horse charging at Leonard slowed down his charge until it became a slow trot and stopped right in front of him. Leonard extended his arm and ran his hand over the horse's head, the animal lowering it to give him better access.

“I don't believe it!” Penny exclaimed and her father agreed. Both went slowly into the pasture as to not to spook the horse. When they got closer, they heard it whinny gently and nudging its head against Leonard.

“Leonard.” her father said, awe in his voice. “I didn't know you were so good with horses.”

“I'm really not. I have ridden one once.” Leonard replied.

“Actually, he's a decent rider, we rode out once when we took a weekend trip.” Penny threw in.

“Want to try with him Leonard? Maybe he'll let you saddle him.” Wyatt suggested.

“Worth a try.” Leonard agreed.

He walked slowly towards the stable, Tornado following him loyally. Following Wyatt's instructions, Leonard put the saddle on the back of the horse, the whole group astonished at its sudden change in behavior, especially when Tornado didn't even react slightly when Leonard put on the bridle.

Penny walked closer to them and Tornado shied away a bit until Leonard held him tight, leading him closer to her. Timidly, she put out her arm and ran her hand over the horse's head like Leonard did, feeling the restrained strength and the tension which was slowly draining the more she touched.

When Leonard led the horse outside, she quickly geared up another horse and followed him. Once outside, Leonard saddled up and started moving, Penny following her. She noticed her father running back into the house but couldn't think more of it when Leonard suddenly sped away with an exultant yell.

She quickly followed them, putting her legs into her horse until she had caught up with him. They ran around the pasture a few times until Leonard sped up even more and to Penny's both horror and astonishment, he jumped the low fence into the open field behind her parents' property. Remembering her training, she followed him and soon they were speeding down mile after mile in a fast gait.

Despite the fact that the daylight was already fading, their ride ended way too soon and Leonard led them back, speeding up again to jump the fence once more, although Penny chose the nearby gate this time, her own horse pretty worn out. After closing it again, she rode to the front where her father was filming them with his old camcorder.

“Dad, isn't this awesome?” she exclaimed happily while Leonard rode a few more circles around the pasture.

“I must say, this is the last thing I expected.” her father acknowledged and pointed towards Leonard.

When he reached the highest point, where Leonard had stood before to use his phone, the horse suddenly reared up. Penny didn't know if he did that on purpose to strike a heroic pose or by accident but he looked dashing with one arm in the air to keep his balance. Leonard slowly rode towards them and stopped before the fence, smiling brightly at them.

“Holy crap, that was frightening.” he laughed.

“But it looked absolutely amazing.” Penny beamed with joy.

“Yeah, you can watch it later, I caught it all.” her dad said, pointing to his camcorder.

“Wyatt, can you give a copy of the recording?” Leonard asked.

“I don't know.” Wyatt replied. “It's a pretty old camcorder, it still uses a tape.”

“Not a problem. There are adapters for everything now.” Leonard said and jumped off the horse to lead it back to the stable with Penny following him.

Once they were inside, Wyatt instructed him how to take off the bridle and saddle and how to clean the horse. Leonard did as he was told, highly enjoying the activity and also watching with how much care Penny cleaned her horse. He realized what Penny had given up when she had moved to Pasadena and was glad that he took her here for the week. If he could do that again for her, he would without hesitation.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by quickly, Meryl putting out a delicious dinner as usual while Penny told her about what happened, with Wyatt confirming her story. True to his word, Leonard had an adapter to connect his old camcorder to his laptop and managed to copy the video to it, which Penny was glad of since she could get a copy now herself and show it to Cheryl and Kim.

“Leonard, I have to ask.” Wyatt started. “What did you do?”

“Actually, I froze in fear at first when I saw him barrel down at me. Then I thought to myself, if I flee, he will run me down. So I stood my ground and prepared to jump to the side before he could hit me. But then he slowed down and stopped just before me so I just touched him.”

“That was quite the risk.”

“It wouldn't have been if you hadn't let him out while Leonard was on the pasture.” Penny interjected, her worry coming back at the thought about what could have happened.

“It turned out okay, didn't it?” Wyatt smiled at her. “I just hope that Tornado doesn't revert when you guys are gone again.”

“Well, if he does, we'll have an excuse to visit again.” Leonard grinned.

“Son, you don't need a reason, you're welcome here anytime.” her father proclaimed. “You too Penny.”

“Gee, thanks dad.” Penny said sarcastically, while her father laughed.

The rest of the dinner went as usual, with idle conversation and followed by a movie in the living room before Penny and Leonard went into her room again.

“By the way, who did you call when you were outside?” Penny asked after they had gotten into bed, Leonard constantly fidgeting while trying a way to get comfortable. “What are you doing?”

“I can't lie on my back. My ass and thighs are killing me.” he said.

“Crybaby. I feel fine and I rode as long as you today.” she grinned.

“Honey, to be fair, you have been riding me several times a week and although I'm not a horse, the movements are more or less the same.”

“Yeah, but... okay, you have a point.” she admitted. “Want me to ride you some more?”

“I'd love to but as I said, I can't be on my back.”

“Get on your stomach.” she ordered.

Leonard did as he was told and she sat down on his knees after pulling his shorts down, kneading the flesh of his thighs and ass to take some of the pain away.

“Mh, that feels good.” he hummed.

“So, back to my earlier question, who did you call?”

“Well, Sheldon at first, to make sure he doesn't freak out. He kept accusing me of negligence because I didn't call him at all during the evenings. He at least understands why I haven't called during the day. I simply told him we were busy.”

“We?”

“Oh, yeah, I said we. Maybe he'll finally figure it out.” Leonard grinned and moaned when Penny found another sore spot. “Okay, then I called Frank.”

“How is he.”

“He's a father now. The baby was born yesterday.”

“Really? That's great!” she exclaimed.

“Yep. Baby boy, twenty-five inches and twelve pounds.”

“Holy crap, that is one big baby. How did Alice manage that?”

“C-section. There was no other way. And the last call was to Professor Brinkman. He asked me to bring the car to him on Sunday evening, so he can get to work on Monday, since he gave Frank the week off to spend it with his new family.”

“Oh, that's a good question for us. When do we leave here? Tomorrow or on Saturday?”

“It depends on how long we can drive before we have to take a break. If we want to be home on Sunday evening, we need to either get very far on Saturday or get up very early on Sunday.”

“Both choices aren't very appealing.” Penny admitted. “How about we leave tomorrow and make two overnight stops instead of one?”

“That's actually a good idea. But don't you want to spend one more day with your family?”

“Yeah. But it wouldn't be fair to you if we had to drive for fifteen hours to get far enough. That you have taken me here was amazing enough so the least I can do is make a twelve-hour sacrifice.” she said.

“Okay. And if we really make two overnight stops, we don't need to get up too early tomorrow. If we stop in Denver again, we can easily leave at ten in the morning and still be there for dinner.” Leonard said.

“Great. I'll go tell my parents. You stay here, just like that.” Penny said and jumped up, putting on some sweatpants before she ran down the stairs to the living room where her parents were sitting.

“Hey slugger. Forgot anything?” Wyatt asked.

“No, I just wanted to let you know that we need to leave tomorrow in the morning, at ten or so. The professor that lent Leonard the car needs it back on Sunday and we don't want to drive sixteen hours in a row.”

“Oh, too bad. But if it's necessary, we can still have breakfast tomorrow then, right?” Meryl asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Penny agreed.

“What's Leonard doing now?” her dad asked her.

“He's lying on my bed, naked from the waist down.”

“I don't need to hear that.” her father said shocked, holding his hands to his ears.

“Relax. I need the anti-cramp ointment. Leonard isn't used to riding a horse for hours.”

“Oh, it's in the master bathroom.” her mother said and winked at her.

Penny got the ointment and went back into her bedroom, finding Leonard still on his stomach but facing the opposite direction to work on his laptop. When she got closer, she saw him scrolling through his movie selection and before sitting down on his knees, she took off her sweatpants again, earning her a appreciative hum and raised eyebrows from Leonard.

“What?” she asked, looking down at herself.

“Nothing. Just thinking about what a lucky guy I am.” he smiled as she started rubbing the ointment on his skin.

“This takes me back to the bed and breakfast. We did the same thing after our ride there.” he said.

“Yep. And back then you were the only one too who needed an ointment.”

“And as I said before, you ride several times a week.” he grinned. “Not tonight though.”

“Too bad. And here I thought I could ride you for a few hours.”

“Don't torture me. You know how much I love it when you bounce on top of me.” he whined, but Penny could hear that he wasn't really mad.

“Well, do you think it's easy for me? My hot and wet heat is throbbing with desire.” she replied playfully, making him groan.

“Take off your clothes. Right now.” he ordered and sat up, his authoritative tone making her even more aroused.

She obeyed and took off her shirt, bra and panties and stood next to her bed, unsure of what he was planning. He had taken off his own shirt and since she had taken off his shorts earlier, he was naked as well. Suddenly, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her on the bed, pushing her down on her stomach and laying his body on top of hers, their upper bodies in complete contact.

He didn't waste any time and pushed into her, in her most favorite position no less and started pounding her in a steady but not overly fast speed. She knew that he could hold this pace for a long time without climaxing while she wasn't so disciplined when he was hitting her g-spot with every thrust while his lips and teeth moved over the pulse point on her neck, driving her even wilder. When she climaxed the first time and Leonard didn't change his speed at all, she knew that she was in for the ride of her life again.

Two hours later, Penny stood on shaky legs in front of her bathroom mirror, brushing her teeth and watching the hickey on her neck get bigger and bigger while Leonard changed the sheets on her bed. As expected, Leonard hadn't disappointed and had kept pounding her to four orgasms for half an hour until he released.

He hadn't pulled out though, staying nestled inside her warmth while sucking and nipping on her neck or kissing her lips until he grew hard again and got to pound her some more. He had repeated that twice, giving her climax after climax while his body stayed fused to hers. And in that position, his aching butt didn't cause any problems for him.

Since her mother would change her sheets anyway once she was gone, she hoped that it wouldn't be too strange when she dropped the dirty sheets in the laundry basket in the morning. Although her mom would surely realize what these sheets had to endure during the week. After finishing up, Penny went back into her bedroom, making room for Leonard.

He didn't take as long as her and was out after only five minutes. He climbed into bed and over her to cover her back like he had the last two hours with the only difference that they were on their sides and not joined at the groin. His arm went around her waist and her legs intertwined with his before she fell into her last satisfied sleep in this bed.

* * *

After a hearty breakfast, both went back into her room to pack their luggage, packing one back with the clothes they would need during their overnight stops. Penny needed more room, since she had bought several items of clothing and a pair of shoes while in town. As Leonard stashed the bags and luggage in the car with Wyatt's help, Meryl handed Penny two bags with lunch for their ride.

“Leonard, it has been a pleasure.” Meryl told him and hugged her almost-son-in-law while Wyatt did the same with Penny. Although Penny hadn't mentioned marriage ever, she knew that those two would end up married some day.

“The pleasure was mine.” Leonard replied, returning the hug, enjoying the display of affection which was so unlike his own family. They switched places and Leonard found himself enveloped in Wyatt's arms.

“It has been a blast, son. Thanks to you I have a new horse that now actually listens and I might soon be energy independent, at least in terms of heating the house.”

“My pleasure, Wyatt.” Leonard replied and extricated himself from him before getting into the car and waiting for Penny to join him, which she did after a few more minutes of teary good-byes.

“BYE DADDY! BYE MOMMY!” she shouted out of the window after Leonard had started the car and waved her hand enthusiastically while they drove down the road, her parents waving until they were out of sight.

“That was such a great week Leonard, thank you so much.” she said and leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek. “I don't know if I can ever repay you.”

“Seeing you happy is reward enough.” he replied, making her even more teary.

“You are the greatest.”

“Okay, how do we handle the driving arrangements? Want to switch again when we reach Lexington? Then overnight stay in Denver again before we leave again?” he asked.

“Sure, sounds good.”

“Okay, but first tell me where we can find a branch office of your bank.”

“Why?”

“Because you have all that cash with you and you should really pay your bills and put some money back into your account.”

“Right, I completely forgot about that.” Penny admitted and gave Leonard the direction he needed.

It didn't take long and twenty minutes later they were on the road and Penny was happy that she had her bills paid and some money back in the bank. She had kept a few hundred dollars since she was determined not to let Leonard pay for everything on the way back. Gas and stays in hotels quickly added up.

Since they had a comparatively short night, Penny made herself comfortable and tried to get some more sleep. The soft music playing on the radio combined with the smooth ride and comfortable seats soon lulled her into a nap.

True to their agreement, Leonard woke her when they reached Lexington and Penny enthusiastically got behind the wheel, the car being a joy to drive. Leonard stayed awake during her turn and they kept talking about this and that with Penny particularly concentrating on his rapport with Tornado and how heroic he had looked when the horse had reared.

Since the whole drive was in no way boring, she was surprised when they saw the city of Denver looming in the distance. Less than an hour later they drove onto the parking lot of the same hotel they stayed in a week before and by pure chance, they even got the same room.

Since her need for shopping had been fulfilled in Omaha, Penny opted for them to have a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant before she pulled him back into the hotel room. After her shower, she grabbed his laptop and lay down on her stomach. She scrolled through the available movies on his hard drive when she saw a folder that consisted only of a random string of numbers and letters. When she clicked on it, it demanded a password.

“Leonard?” she asked him as he returned from the bathroom.

“Yeah?”

“I always wanted to ask someone who knows about this. What are these folders for?” she inquired and pointed to the one in question.

“Those are folders that the operating system creates to store backup data.”

“Is that why they want a password to open?”

“No, they are usually not accessible at all. They don't ask for a password.”

“Well, this one does.” he said.

“Yeah, because it's my Penny folder.” he said proudly.

“Come again?”

“I'll show you.” he said and clicked on the folder, entering the password too fast for her to see and opening it. In it, she found every picture she had taken and sent to him as well as every video they had made with the camcorder or any of their cameras.

“Wow, those bring back memories. These first ones are all those that Kim and Cheryl saw too until I found out that they were stealing them.”

“When was this?”

“When I threw her phone out of your window, remember?”

“Oh yeah, right. That was the night I took you out on a date and we ran into Sheldon.”

“Yeah, and we had sex in that movie theater.” she grinned.

“That was a great night.” he agreed and stood up again to get some refreshments from his bag while Penny started one of the videos they shot, fast-forwarding to a random point and filling the room with giggles and moans.

Watching herself in action, she felt the arousal spike and her ears went deaf to any other sound but those coming from the speakers. By chance, she had chosen their eight times all-nighter and landed on the fifth time, the one where Leonard had donned the rubber band and roughly pounded her from behind.

Though this time she saw details that she understandably missed when she was receiving orgasm after orgasm. She watched him gently slapping her ass, the sounds echoing through the air while her screen-self screamed out another orgasm combined with lots of expletives. Penny was so fixated on the screen that she didn't even realize that Leonard had climbed on the bed. She just noticed his presence when she felt a sudden pain.

“Ouch.” she yelped. “Leonard, did you just bite my ass?”

“Yeah. Sorry, couldn't help myself after seeing you in a thong. Was it too hard?”

“No, I was just surprised. Warn me the next time.” she admonished playfully and wiggled her cheeks seductively.

“Somebody here gets horny watching us have sex.” he whispered into her ear as he pressed himself on on her body.

“Yeah, and it's you.” she laughed when she felt the bulge in his shorts pressing against her center.

“Not only me. I could smell your arousal when my head was down there.”

“Really?” she asked giggling. “What does it smell like?”

“'It's indescribable. It simply smells like sex. And as I said before, you taste great.”

“So, what do you want to do about it?”

Instead of answering, he slid down her body and slowly pulled her thong off her, her arousal spiking even more when it hit the floor. She wanted to turn on her back but he held her still and kissed up her leg until his tongue got in contact with her wet folds. She inhaled sharply at the sudden sensation, her legs already quivering.

His skillful tongue let the moisture pool between her legs but he lapped it up unperturbed, not letting a drop escape. His hands grabbed her hips tightly, lifting her up a few inches to give him better access and his tongue delved deep into her, running along her inner walls. He pushed a finger into her and then two and the double sensation had her climaxing quickly, her moans filling the room.

“Leonard? How's your ass?” she asked him panting.

“Feels okay, I guess.” he replied. “Why?”

“Lay down on your back. I want, no I need to fuck you.” she ordered and he complied. She pulled off his shorts and her shirt, revealing her full breasts to his eager hands and mounted him quickly. Her hands went to his chest to give her some leverage and she started grinding rapidly, the movement causing the abused bedsprings to scream in agony.

A week ago she had been standing in the shower inside the adjoining bath and Leonard had pounded her hard without slowing down. Tonight, she repaid him in this room by riding him hard without slowing down, no matter how hard she came and how loud her own screams were. And since he loved to see her riding him, he kept thinking boring thoughts until he couldn't hold it in anymore and Penny collapsed on his chest after half an hour of hard riding. Barely able to breath, she rolled off him and her exhaustion immediately pulled her to sleep.

When Penny woke up, it was still dark out and it was marked by the absence of the warm body behind her. She turned around to snuggle into him to find Leonard's side of the bed empty, which made her open her eyes only to find Leonard's silhouette standing at the window.

“Hey.” she mumbled sleepily. “Why are you standing over there?”

“For some reason I can't sleep.”

“Haven't I worn you out enough?” she grinned.

“Yeah. And I'm really tired but I can't fall asleep. Can't explain it.”

“That's weird.”

“It is. But you know the old phrase. 'You're never more awake than when you go to bed...'” he started.

“'...and never more tired than after waking up.” she finished. “Can you come to bed anyway? Or else I can't sleep too.”

“Why?” he asked but got into bed anyway, spooning her like he usually did.

“Because even if it sounds selfish, I can't sleep when you're not in bed with me.” she said and snuggled into his embrace.

“How do you sleep when we can't spend the night together?”

“Badly.” she admitted and almost immediately fell asleep again.

* * *

Her phone woke her up again at eight in the morning, making her hit the mute button with almost brutal strength. She felt Leonard's arms around her and turned around, looking into his open eyes.

“Hey.” she said to him. “Did you finally fall asleep?”

“Not really. Just dozing” he admitted.

“Then I think it's better for you if I drive the first part of today's leg.” she said and got up to use the bathroom.

She hurried up and made room for Leonard, getting dressed while he was busy in the bathroom. After they were done, they went downstairs for breakfast before Penny paid the bill this time. Ten minutes later, the bags were stashed and they were on the road again, with Penny in the driver's seat as she had promised.

Like a mother rocking the crib to bring a toddler to sleep, the gentle vibrations of the car going down the highway soon had Leonard in dreamland as well. Penny smiled at his prone form, the seat pushed back so he could be horizontal. She had no idea where he had planned to stop tonight but she was determined to get them as far as possible so he would have to drive as little as possible. Even if it meant going over the speed limit a bit.

Usually she found riding in a car with someone without communicating with said person a lot dreary, except when that person was Sheldon, but like it had been on the trip to Nebraska, just being in the car with Leonard had a tremendous calming effect on her, making her simply happy. She leaned back and concentrated on the road, the weekend traffic slowing them down but not enough to be a drag.

After six hours, she desperately needed a bathroom break and pulled over at a rest stop, the change in speed finally waking up Leonard. She smiled at him and exited the car, hurrying into the building and to the toilets while Leonard did the same, only slower. After relieving herself, she went back out to the car to take out the sandwiches her mother had prepared for them.

“How long did I sleep?” Leonard asked.

“Six hours or so.” Penny replied, taking another bite and washing it down with some juice.

“Why didn't you wake me before?”

“You needed your sleep. You were awake most of the night while I slept like a baby once you were holding me again.”

“I managed to doze off after a while.”

“Still, you were really tired after we got up and you almost immediately fell asleep again once we were in the car.” she said and finished her sandwich. “But I must admit, driving six hours straight is really tiresome.”

“Oh, I know. But you can nap while I drive.”

“Where are we staying tonight?”

“Lets decide that when it gets dark.” he decided and finished his own sandwich as well, downing his red bull before getting into the drivers seat.

Penny followed him into the car and adjusted the passenger seat as Leonard started it and drove back on the highway. She had intended to stay awake to keep him company but the movement of the car did its work on her own body and soon enough, her seat was in the prone position and she was napping away.

* * *

“Penny, wake up.” Leonard's voice pulled her out of sleep.

“Hey, sweetie. Is it night already?”

“No, it's only six in the evening but I think I found the perfect place for us to stay the night and have some fun before.”

“Oh, where are we going?” she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Look.” he pointed and she turned forward, seeing the Las Vegas skyline come closer.

“Leonard! That's such a fantastic idea.” she cried and threw her arms around his neck, pressing a kiss to his cheek and making him strain hard to keep the car on the road.

She giggled the entire way he drove them along the Las Vegas strip, passing casino after casino until he stopped at the MGM Grand. She jumped out of the car and was about to run to the front doors when she realized that she should help Leonard with the bags they needed for the night. She went back and grabbed her overnight bag while he took his before she took his hand and led him towards the doors, getting into the hotel.

They took a room and stashed their bags, each washing up before they grabbed their money, with Leonard leaving enough in the room to pay for the room in the morning and headed into the casino. Penny wanted to run into the casino but Leonard held her back, pointing to the cash-out area where they could exchange their money for chips..

“How much money do you pan to use?” Leonard asked her.

“Two hundred. I left the rest upstairs.” she replied. “What about you?”

“The same.” he said while they got their casino currency. They walked onto the casino floor and Penny squealed in excitement, running to the slot machines and starting to play.

“If you watch others play and wait until they are leaving frustrated, the chance of winning is greatly increased.” he advised and looked around himself. “God dammit.” he cursed, making her look up.

“What's wrong?”

“There is a small Texas hold'em poker tournament tonight.”

“So?” she asked.

“I can't afford the buy-in. It's three hundred dollars and I just have two hundred.”

“Here.” Penny said and handed him half of her chips.

“Are you sure?” he asked, hesitating.

“Yeah. Take it. Go play.” she smiled. “Just remember, everything you win, one third of it is mine.” she added with a wink.

“Thank you.” he said and kissed her before heading to the area where the tournament was about to start.

Since the four tables, with five players each, were in a roped-off area, she couldn't stay behind him, only a few feet away behind the velvet ropes. She decided to play a bit herself before watching him play poker, if he managed to get that far.

She looked around and saw someone get off his chair in front of a slot machine he was playing on for the last ten minutes. She waited a few seconds and went to the machine herself, starting to play it to see if Leonard's claim had any merit. It took five minutes but he turned out to be right when the machine started ringing before a lot of chips tumbled out of it.

She picked them up, giggling all the time and with her newfound prosperity, small as it may be, she headed to the craps table, sitting down between two sweaty guys who wasted no time looking her up and down, making her happy that she didn't change into some revealing outfit before coming down here.

Although she won a few games, she lost a lot more and much to her dismay, it took two hours of incessant playing before she was down to a tenth of her starting money. With a sigh, she stood up from the table and went to look for her boyfriend.

* * *

Penny found Leonard sitting at the poker table where she left him, with the tournament apparently almost over since there was only him and one other player left. Her eyes went wide at the stack of chips in front of him, indicating that he must have won quite a few hands. His opponent had a similar stack of chips on his side, so the game seemed to be pretty much tied.

She moved along the velvet ropes encircling the playing area, which were present to prevent anyone to move too close to the players and help them cheat. Leonard's opponent was wearing sunglasses while he himself couldn't and tried to present a good poker face.

When she reached a good space right behind Leonard, she saw his hand and the pair of twos he was holding. Since the flop wasn't on the table yet, she didn't know if that was a good sign or not. Both players put in the blinds and the dealer dished out the three cards. Penny craned her neck to look at them and saw that it was a nine, a ten and a jack, all of diamonds.

Knowing something about playing poker, she knew that Leonard still had only the pair and since none of his cards were of the same suit, he didn't have any chance for a flush. She didn't know what his opponent had but it seemed to be something good because the guy suddenly threw in ten black chips, raising the pot to a thousand. To her surprise and some horror, Leonard matched it without hesitation.

She watched in agitation as the dealer handed out the turn, which was a five, again of diamonds. The chance for Leonard's opponent to have a flush rose even more and it became more apparent that he possibly had one because he raised another five hundred which Leonard also called right away.

The dealer put the river card on the table and it turned out to be the seven of hearts. Leonard still only had his two-pair while his opponent could have a diamond flush or even a straight if he had an eight in his hand. Which he probably had because he immediately went all in, an action the audience rewarded with a hush. Her mouth went dry when Leonard didn't immediately threw in his cards.

“How much is that?” she heard Leonard ask the dealer, pointing at the chips in the middle of the table.

“Exactly two thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight dollars.” the dealer replied after a minute. She saw Leonard looking at his own chips as if counting them as well.

“That means I have three thousand and two dollars. I call.” she heard him say and was surprised by that fact, knowing that he went into that game with three hundred dollars. But since the tournament started with twenty players with three hundred dollars each, a bit of simple math explained that.

As the one going all-in, his opponent revealed his cards first, which turned out to be an ace of spades and a king of clubs. Penny couldn't believe it. The guy had nothing but an ace high and Leonard managed to call his bluff. She watched Leonard triumphantly reveal his cards to the exasperated groan of his opponent and to the cheer of the watching crowd. He got a chip holder and put all the chips inside before standing up and walking out of the roped area. She wasted no time in intercepting him.

“Leonard!” she yelled and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him hard. “That was an amazing play. Where did you learn to play poker like that?”

“Online.” he grinned back and checked his watch. “I thought to myself, I won millions of virtual dollars in online poker games, why not try my skills for real.”

“But that was so amazing how you called his bluff at the end.” she told him as they walked to the cash-out.

“I cheated.” he whispered when they had reached an area with much less people than the casino floor.

“What? How?”

“I saw the reflection of the guy's cards in his sunglasses.” he grinned.

“I said it before, but you are a sneaky one Doctor Hofstadter. That was so hot.”

Without a reply, Leonard went to the cash-out and exchanged his chips for real money, Penny feeling giddy at the sight of such a lot of cash.

“So Penny, are you up for upgrading our hotel room and having a blast tonight?” he asked with a grin.

“Fucking yes.” she hissed and held him tight, walking arm in arm towards the hotel reception.

After a short discussion with the clerk, they went to their original room with a bellboy to get their bags before exchanging keys and headed up a few floors to the more luxurious rooms. Leonard opened it and both went inside, whereupon Penny giggled loudly and jumped on the giant bed, bouncing off the soft mattress and almost falling off the other side.

“This room is so great.” she squealed and sat up until she was on her knees.

“And the bathroom has a Jacuzzi.” he called from the bathroom door.

“Great!” she shouted and jumped from the bed, hurrying to the bathroom door where Leonard was standing and seeing the tub with the jets on its sides and a rubber mat on the floor of it to prevent slipping.

“I'm getting a flashback to the bed and breakfast.” he grinned.

“You're not just getting a flashback.” she quipped, seeing the bulge forming in his pants.

“Yeah well, who could blame me.” he grinned. “Being with you in warm water, having you grind on me, my cock in your even warmer embrace...” he reminisced, which made Penny hot as well when she remembered what they did at that B&B.

She opened the tap and let it fill the tub, the construction of it making the filling process quick due to the added water outlets at the side of the tub. They watched the water level rise higher and higher, Penny looking at Leonard with a grin and licking her lips in anticipation. As the last of the water went into the tub, she started, without ever taking off her eyes off his, to discard one item of clothing after another.

He watched her with mesmerized eyes as first her pants, then her shirt and then her socks fall, his eyes going down at her body and the amazingly sexy underwear she had on as if she had known that they would get another night like this. She started touching herself by running her hands down her chest, letting them circle on her still covered breasts before going to her stomach until they ended between her legs, moaning all the way.

Leonard almost lost it right there, the pressure inside his pants getting almost painful to bear when watching his beautiful girlfriend touching her body. He opened his pants and let them fall, kicking them away before his shirt followed them on their downward path. His own socks were gone fast and without waiting for any hint, he dropped his shorts as well, freeing his straining erection from its confinement with a sigh.

“Somebody is eager.” she grinned and watched his manhood twitching.

“With you doing that while sounding like that?”

“Get into the tub.” she ordered and he immediately complied, jumping into the tub.

She stepped into the tub herself, her back facing him and took off her bra, flinging it away like her other clothes. She put her hands on her ass and pulled her cheeks slightly apart, enjoying the moan she got out of him doing that.

“Do you like how my ass looks in this g-string?” she asked seductively.

“Yes. A thousand times yes.” he groaned.

“Good.” she grinned and slowly took off the last piece of clothing, lifting one leg after another so it wouldn't get wet.

“It looks even better without the g-string.” his voice said behind her.

“Leonard. I want you to lick me hard. Stick your tongue deep into my pussy and make me come hard.” Penny ordered and before the last syllable had even left her mouth, his own was already pressed between her legs, his tongue doing exactly what she wanted, running inside her folds and making her muscles shake.

He went down on her hard, his tongue running rough and deep inside her and she shuddered and twitched, trying to stay upright. After only two more minutes, she squealed in her climax, almost collapsing into the tub with only his hands holding her steady.

She moved forward to signal him to stop, which he did. He leaned back against the back end, watching her calm down after what he did to her. She turned her head to look down at him, seeing his still ramrod hard erection under the water. She stepped back again and bent her knees sinking down into the water until his top touched her center.

She stopped upon the contact, staying like this for almost thirty seconds when Leonard groaned in frustration and grabbed her hips to push her down the rest of the way, ramming himself into her to the hilt and making her cry out in pleasure. She waited a few seconds to get used to him before she started moving, bouncing gently up and down.

“Faster.” he ordered and his voice didn't let her resist.

She sped up, his hands guiding her and making her increase her speed even more until she was bouncing wildly on him. The apparent genius construction of the tub became obvious when the water they were displacing with their rapid movements didn't slosh over the rim on the floor but into carefully placed drainage channels close to the top. Apparently the designers of the hotel rooms knew that their guests would use the tubs for something else than just bathing.

His hands glided to her hips and pulled her back until she was pressed against his chest. Her bouncing changed angle and became even more stimulating but when his hand went between her legs to rub her clit, she couldn't take it anymore and climaxed with a loud scream. She slowed down a bit to ride it out, her position on top allowing her to do that.

He seemed to have caught on to that because he pushed himself into an upright position, taking her with him and kept pushing until she was bent forward. He pulled out and got on his knees, pulling her legs out from under her until her stomach was flush against the sloped end of the tub, her head and upper chest out of the water.

She realized what his plan was and sure enough, his body was soon on hers and he pushed into her from behind. Since he knew that this position and its variations were her favorite, he tried to use it as often as he could and although she was eternally grateful that he always gave her such a great amount of pleasure when they made love, sometimes it was almost too much when he tried to bring her to orgasm as often as he could.

Her breaths came out through clenched teeth in rhythm with his movements, his cock slamming deep into her and hitting her g-spot with every single thrust. She yelled out another orgasm which he didn't led her ride out, simply continuing in that fast speed. It was almost as if he wanted her to be aching between her legs but since he took every care not to hurt her at all, she knew that his efforts were based in his desire to give her pleasure.

“Leonard.” she pleaded. “Come for me baby.”

Her plea seemed to work and with a few mighty thrusts, he climaxed himself and spilled deep into her before collapsing on her back and lying there for several minutes without moving. When she couldn't take his weight pressing her against the tub anymore, she pushed him backwards until he was leaning back against the other end again.

She turned around and leaned back herself, putting her legs on his waist and activating the air jets. Her face flush with orgasmic satisfaction, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm and bubbling water surrounding her. She took her time, waiting almost an hour before deciding that it was enough and followed Leonard, who had gotten out half an hour earlier, out of the tub.

She found him lying on the bed and watching the news while playing around with his phone. After her bath, she had found several robes in the bathroom closets, which were part of the luxurious room inventory and put one over her still naked body, not bothering with any underwear and seeing that he had had the same thought when he moved in the bed and involuntarily flashed her.

“Whatcha doing?” she asked and joined him on the bed.

“Sending Sheldon a message that I'm going to be home tomorrow.”

“When will that be?”

“Whenever we choose it to be. It's less than a four-hour drive from here to Pasadena.” he clarified.

“When do you want to leave here?”

“The room is rented until noon, so we can sleep in, have a nice lunch and then leave. Then I'll drop you and my luggage off and take the car to a gas station to fill it up and then back to Professor Brinkman's house.”

“How will you get home?”

“I just take a cab, no biggie.”

“Nonsense, I'll follow you with my car and take you back with me.”

“You don't have to do that.” he said.

“Leonard. You brought me to Nebraska, you made me have the best week of my entire life and what kind of girlfriend would I be if I don't do some driving for you.”

“Okay.” he conceded, seeing her determination. “Oh, by the way, here.” he said and handed her a stack of bills.

“Leonard, why are you giving me two thousand dollars?” she asked shocked after counting it.

“It's your share of the winnings. Remember? When you gave the that hundred dollars, you said that a third of my winnings would be yours.”

“I was joking. It would have been enough to give me the money back that I gave you.”

“Well, you didn't so you can keep it all.”

“But...”

“You can afford those boots now that I saw on your computer that day two weeks ago.” he said and every argument she attempted to bring died on her tongue.

“You had to bring out the big guns, did you?” she grinned and snuggled into him. “I don't know how I can ever thank you.”

“You being with me and letting me make love to you is reward enough.”

“In that case, I will gladly make love to you all night, even though I'm going to be aching again tomorrow.”

True to her word, they made love for hours, spending the breaks in between cuddling and kissing and enjoying the contents of the minibar. They got up an hour before lunch, showering together and then having the lunch they agreed on before they paid the bill and left the MGM a lot richer than they entered it.

And when they passed the city limits of Pasadena and their home came closer, Penny thought about the week, realizing that while they had a lot of sex, something she would never be against, it had brought them much closer. Watching him interacting with her parents and especially her parents interact with him or how her extended family had accepted him, it made her see that Leonard would be the man she would end up with.

She just had to finally find the courage to tell him that she loved him without stuttering or fearing that his answer would sound forced. But that would be something for another day. For now, they needed to get back into their routine. And she had to buy a gorgeous pair of boots.

* * *

**And finally you have reached the end of the chapter. Most of you are probably exhausted by now ^^**

**Still, review please :)**

 

 

%MCEPASTEBIN%


	26. Chapter 26

**Just a little information: A reader asked me by PM why the word count sometimes changes by one word or two after the chapter was uploaded. For anyone with the same question, it's because despite my proofreading before posting, errors happen. And I habitually read my current chapter again a day or two after posting it, getting fresh eyes on it and sometimes I find errors that I then correct. I hope that cleared it up :)**

**And although I only saw that today, whoever added my story to the community called “Exceptional works of art” - THANK YOU SO MUCH :D :D :D**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.**

* * *

“Thank you, come back soon.” Penny bid farewell to the group of customers who had paid their bill, leaving her a nice tip.

She pocketed it and brought the rest of the money to the register, depositing it inside and closing it again. She looked around the restaurant and saw that none of her tables were currently occupied, which gave her a good reason to take her break.

She headed into the employee lounge and sat down on one of the chairs, putting her feet on another to sooth them. It had been kind of hard to get back into the routine at the Cheesecake Factory after her week off but even though she currently was working the third day of the week, she was still marveled that her feet could hurt like this after only three hours of walking around when she had spent three hours in Omaha walking around in pair after pair of brand new shoes without having any problems afterwards.

She smiled when she remembered that last week. It had been such a great time, being with her parents and have Leonard there, sharing in what she did growing up and having him accepted by her family. Not to mention riding out and watching him tame a, what her father thought to be, wild horse and doing a heroic pose by accident when the horse reared.

Of course, all the lovemaking they did during that week had been off the charts as well. Despite the fact that they had been in her parents' house and were even caught twice hadn't diminished their need for each other in any way. She had been pleasured by him almost every night and what had surprised her most after she had done it, she had given him a blowjob with no regard to her own pleasure other than providing it to him. Usually she did it either as foreplay or a day before the end of her period to make the sex last longer when it was possible again.

“So.” a familiar voice startled her out of her thoughts.

“Hello Cheryl. And hello Kim.” Penny greeted her two friends, who sat down across from her. After three days of not having a shift with them, of course she couldn't escape another interrogation once these girls were working at the same time as her.

“I think you know why we are here.” Kim said.

“To work?” Penny quipped with a grin. She knew exactly why they were talking to her now.

“Very funny.” Cheryl took up the thread. “First of all, you send us a picture that shows you having Leonard's cock completely in your mouth, your eyes wide and your cheeks looking like you stuffed your mouth full with something. Which you actually did, come to think of it. Then a few days later, after you made us envious showing us your new shoes, you send us several more very salacious pictures of you doing the splits against his mouth, blowing him again with such joy and of riding him. Although we already saw that in motion.”

“Are you finished?” Penny asked.

“So far, yes.” came the reply.

“And your question is?”

“What makes you think you will get away with this? You will give us some information about Leonard's body that we want to know and in sending us these pictures and those texts that you just got three orgasms in the shower and were about to ride him to oblivion, you just volunteered for another girls night on Friday after our shifts. You will drink, you will drink more and you will talk. And then you can sleep on my couch.” Cheryl ordered and her entire manner made Penny fearful of her reaction if she refused.

“Fine.” she agreed to get away from their interrogation.

“Day after tomorrow.” Cheryl said while standing up, Kim following her. “My shift on Friday ends at six, so girls night starts at eight. I know you have the morning shift so don't come to me and say you cannot come because of work.”

Penny let out a sigh and wondered what just happened. Those two were really scary if they wanted to. She felt like she had just been accosted by two henchmen of some powerful mob boss who wanted her to pay the money she owed. She stood up and, shaking her head at the directness of her two friends, she went back to work.

* * *

When the clock struck seven, Penny finally entered her apartment building. After working half an hour overtime due to a coworker running late after getting caught up in a traffic jam caused by an accident, she had finally arrived home. At least she had snagged some dinner from the Cheesecake Factory.

She knew that the guys were all in Leonard's apartment, since it was Wednesday night and though she really would love to be with Leonard, a shower was her first priority and then maybe watching some TV. And maybe Leonard would come over to finally spend a night like they had during their week away.

Deciding that a shower wasn't going to cut it this time, she opened the tap to let the bathtub fill up. At least she could do this again, thanks again to Leonard and Frank because they had gotten the money back that Kurt had owed her. And for the first time in a long time, she had some extra money in the bank thanks to Leonard's generosity after he won a big chunk of money at that poker tournament.

She had even refrained from buying those ridiculous expensive boots she wanted after coming back, thinking about her habits of thoughtlessly spending any money she had saved on shoes. She still had that amazing pair of boots in her closet that Leonard had given her as a gift or rather as an apology for making her miss work.

She got her phone and placed it next to her little towel she used to dry her hands in case she needed the phone during a bath before getting into the tub and sinking into the bubbles and hot water. She sighed deeply and ran her hands over her skin, wishing that they were Leonard's.

Since their Nebraska week, they hadn't had sex once. Sheldon had completely taken over Leonard's time in some form of overcompensation to make up for the week they had been away. Those were the times she cursed her love of sex. In her perfect world, she and Leonard would do it at least two or three times a day but she knew that it couldn't happen with both having jobs and especially with Leonard's friends around. But she was sure that she would get to see him tomorrow. He had mentioned that he wanted to visit her tonight but he hadn't been sure if he could.

After almost an hour, she got out of the tub and dried herself off before heading back into her bedroom. She put on some underwear and grabbed her well worn flower motif pants along with a yellow shirt with four decorative buttons covering her cleavage. Should Leonard come over, those buttons would be opening immediately but now she was safe in case anyone else saw her.

She booted up her laptop and started surfing the next. As soon as the Skype program had finished auto-starting, it rang with the face if Cheryl popping up on the screen. Remembering that she had been ordered to a girls night in two days, she accepted the call to see what she wanted now.

“Hey girls.” Penny greeted Cheryl and Kim, who was sitting next to her. “Are you sure you're not living together?”

“Yes, we're sure. But since we followed your advice to stay single for a while to lose the status as sluts, we keep each other company.” Cheryl replied.

“When did that happen?” Penny asked them.

“About two days after we asked you how long Leonard's cock is.” Kim replied. “What you said to us back then struck a cord and once we got tired of the ineptitude of our respective boyfriends in the sack, we let them go and decided to do it. And so far, everything's fine.” she added, smiling to Cheryl.

“Well, good for you.” Penny said. “Is there a reason for this call?”

“Since you have the day off tomorrow to go to your audition, we won't see each other anymore at work this week and we just wanted to remind you to pack some extra clothing when you come here for girls night.”

“What makes you think I will spend the night?”

“Oh you will. Because we want details of your trip and you get the most talkative with alcohol inside you. And since you probably don't want to walk here, you need to spend the night.”

“Fine, I'll spend the night. But I don't think I need an extra set of clothes, since I can go home in the morning and change here. You two are really...” Penny started but was interrupted by a high pitched sound coming from the opposite apartment. It really sounded awful and she wondered if the guys were torturing some poor animal for one of their experiments.

“What the hell is that?” Kim asked as even they could hear that sound.

“I'll go check. Give me a few minutes.” she replied and stood up before walking out of her apartment.

When she entered the guys' place, she saw the guys minus Leonard playing Rock Band, with Sheldon  on the guitar, Howard playing the drums and Raj singing. Usually she liked the song but only when the Red Hot Chili Peppers sang them. Raj's version sounded awful and luckily he ended it with a squeak as soon as he saw her standing in the door.

“Fellas, please.” she said.

“Penny, come on, we were just finding our sound.” Howard told her, wiggling his eyebrows.

“You found it.” she stated. “It’s the sound of a cat being run over by a lawn mower.” she added when Leonard walked into the room from his bedroom, phone in hand.

“I’m really very busy. Is there any way that we can put this off until I have more time to prepare?” he talked into the phone, making her curious who he was talking to. “Of course. But, uh, you understand my trepidation.”

“What’s that about?” she asked the other guys.

“Not a clue.” Howard admitted, as curious as her.

“Can’t we just postpone it till the spring? Maybe next summer?” Leonard implored to the person he was on the phone with.

“This should be fairly easy to deduce.” Sheldon piped up. “He’s holding the phone to his left ear. Ears do not cross hemispheres, so he’s using the analytical rather than the emotional side of the brain, suggesting that he has no personal relationship with the caller.”

“No, I didn’t realize it had been so long...sure, I guess there’s no other choice but to just go ahead and do it.” Leonard said again, still not acknowledging the other people in the room.

“He’s referring to an activity he has done before.” Sheldon continued his analysis. “It’s unpleasant and needs to be repeated. This suggests some sort of invasive medical test, like perhaps a colonoscopy.”

“Aren’t there any other options? There’s not a lot of room, it’s gonna be uncomfortable.” Leonard said, making Sheldon's claim a little more likely.

“Yes, yes. Yeah, I’m definitely going with colonoscopy.” Sheldon finished.

“Okay, bye.” Leonard said and hung up the phone before turning to the group, a look of trepidation in his eyes. “My mother’s coming to visit.”

“How about that, you were right.” Howard threw in.

Penny had no idea why Leonard seemed to be so upset at the prospect of his mother coming for a visit. She herself would be thrilled if her parents came to California. When his eyes landed on her, she smiled at him in silent support, hoping that he would tell her what the bad thing was.

“Leonard, you look like someone who had to watch his dog get put down.” Howard said.

“Yeah, and I feel the same way.” Leonard agreed. “At least she's staying only for one day and leaves on Friday morning.”

“Is she that bad?” Penny asked him.

“Yeah.” he said.

“Leonard, would you please get into a better mood.” Sheldon implored with his usual lack of sympathy. “We are in the middle of a game night and I don't have time to make you tea.”

“You don't need to make me tea, Sheldon.” Leonard said, his head in his hands.

“I could make you tea.” Penny offered, finding this the perfect opportunity to get him into her apartment.

“Great idea.” Sheldon agreed. “Leonard, go immediately.”

“Fine.” Leonard agreed and straightened up, before following Penny out into the hallway and into her apartment.

* * *

“So, you are seriously telling me that you dread the visit of your mother?” Penny asked him after they had sat down on her couch.

“Yes, I really do.” he replied, his head down.

“When will she arrive?”

“Tomorrow morning. That's why me and Sheldon will head to work just before lunch. Luckily she'll be gone the day after tomorrow.”

“Maybe I could meet her?”

“Why would you want to meet my mother? I don't even want to meet my mother.”

“Well, you met my parents and they like you. I hope she'll like me.”

“If you meet her, be on your guard. Don't tell her anything about yourself or your childhood or she will dissect it to the bone and probably make you cry.” he said with complete seriousness.

“Come on, you're kidding.”

“No, I'm not.”

“Want to hide out in my apartment while she is here?” she suggested.

“Given that she is my mother, I don't think that will be possible. Even if she is fine with ignoring me most of the time, her sense of social obligation trumps that.”

“Aw, my poor sweetie. Want me to make you feel better?” she asked him and placed her hand over his crotch. She was desperate for some human contact with him, the days since the return from their trip having been a long dry spell in her mind.

“I'd like that but I fear that my mom's visit is more effective than a bucket of ice water.”

“Come on, don't exaggerate.” Penny said and rubbed him hard but strangely enough she got no reaction from his little buddy. “Wow, you're not kidding, there's nothing reacting down there.”

“I told you.” he sighed.

“Leonard.” she whined. “We had so much sex last week, I want that again. I want to feel you moving inside me.”

“And we want to see him moving inside you.” a female voice came out of nowhere.

“What the hell?” Penny asked and looked at her laptop which had its screen turned off.

She moved her finger over the touch pad and the screen came back to life, revealing the grinning faces of Cheryl and Kim who were still on the other side of the Skype connection Penny hadn't closed when she walked over to the guys' apartment before.

“Damn girls, why do you keep eavesdropping on us.” Penny more shouted than asked.

“Not our fault. It's like keeping your blinds open before having sex after talking to us at your window.” Cheryl replied.

“Hey girls.” Leonard greeted them with a small smile.

“Hey stud.” Kim grinned into the camera.

“I take it from that greeting that you grilled Penny already about the pictures she sent you?” he asked.

“Of course we have. You can't expect us to stay quiet about that.”

“Okay girls, I see you on Friday.” Penny exclaimed and ended the connection and the program completely.

“That was kind of rude.” Leonard commented.

“Hey, I don't need those two pestering my boyfriend with questions about the size of his manhood. I will get enough pestering for my inability to rouse you today.”

“Just tell them the truth, it's not your fault.”

“Unfortunately, this isn't how female teasing works.” she grinned.

“Ah well. At least you got the pictures to prove how much you can arouse me.” he said, giving her a smile in return.

“Don't remind me. I'm still not sure why I sent them that one on purpose.”

“You sent more than one.”

“Yeah, but the others were an accident. Only that one special picture was on purpose.”

“Where they don't see anything.”

“Except me trying my hardest to accommodate your girth in my mouth.” she blushed.

“Yeah, that looked hilarious.”

“Hey!” she admonished playfully.

“Okay, I think I head back. I want to go to bed early so I can gather as much mental strength as I can before my mother arrives.” he said and got up.

“Too bad. I really want you.”

“I want you too. But it wouldn't be fair to you if I give you only software.” he said grinning.

“Yeah, I prefer hardware.” she smiled in return and let him go.

After he left, Penny sighed and sunk back into her couch. Since it was still relatively early, she could watch a movie before heading to bed. While it ran, she grabbed some clothes for the laundry she wanted to do tomorrow morning before she had to leave for her audition.

* * *

The next morning, Penny got yanked out of bed by her alarm at seven in the morning. With a curse, she fought her way out of bed and into the bathroom, the cold water from the sink pushing most of the sleep out of her. After doing her usual routine, she put on some panties and an orange top, its spaghetti straps making it usable as a bra. To prevent people from ogling her pronounced cleavage, she put on a bright pink top over it.

To top of her outfit, she put on some dark pants and her short boots. Although they were almost too warm for California, she loved them immensely for their snugness. After drinking her coffee, she grabbed the laundry basket and some change before heading downstairs.

It took her almost ten minutes to get her loads started, one machine in particular very hesitant to take her money. Satisfied that both machines were finally running, she grabbed her now empty basket, put the bottle of detergent into it and carried it out of the laundry room. When she turned the corner to the mailboxes, she saw a strange woman with glasses looking at the elevator.

“It’s out of order.” she told the woman.

“Yes, I can read the sign.” came the reply. “I’m just pondering the implications.”

“I think it implies that the elevator doesn’t work.” Penny said quietly, a little sarcasm in her voice.

“Again, I can read the sign. But the sign and the tape are covered with a layer of dust, which indicates that the elevator has been non-functional for a significant amount of time. Which suggests either a remarkable passivity among the, I assume, 24 to 36 residents of this building based on the number of mailboxes and given typical urban population density or a shared delusion of functionality.”

“You must be Leonard’s mother.” Penny stated, the demeanor and overly analytical behavior he told her about spot on.

“Oh, I don’t know if I must be, but yes.”

_'That was kind of a weird answer.'_ she thought.“Uh, I’m Penny. I’m his neighbor.”

“Oh, Dr. Beverley Hofstadter.” the woman introduced herself.

“Oh, nice to meet you.” Penny replied and held out her hand.

“Oh, you’re a hand shaker. Interesting.” Beverly said and almost hesitantly shook her hand.

“Uh, why don’t you come with me. I’ll walk you to the apartment.” Penny suggested.

“Oh, all right. Would you like to exchange pleasantries on the way?”

“Yeah, sure, I guess.”

“All right, you start.” Beverly said as if she was unused to do pleasantries.

“Okay. You know, I’ve always been curious. What was Leonard like when he was little?” Penny asked as they were walking up the first flight of stairs.

“Oh, I think you mean young. He’s always been little.”

“Right, okay.” Penny said confused. “What was he like when he was young?”

“You’ll have to be more specific.”

_'Boy, she is like Sheldon.'_ “Oh, okay, like, five or six.” Penny said and received a pointed look. “Five.” she added with her head down.

“Oh, well, at that age he was well enmeshed in what Freud would call the phallic stage of psychosexual development. An outmoded theory, of course, but the boy did spend most of his waking hours with a tight grasp on his penis.”

“Yeah, Leonard mentioned you were a psychiatrist.”

“Well, that is one of my degrees. My primary field is neuroscience.”

“Oh, well, I’m an actress.” Penny stated happily and Beverly looked at her for several seconds.

“Why?” came the reply and Penny was taken aback. Usually people reacted with either approval or disapproval of her life choice but no one had ever asked her why she wanted to be one.

“What do you mean why?” she asked Beverly.

“Well, there are studies that suggest that many who go into the performing arts suffer from an external locus of identity.” Leonard's mother stated.

“Yeah, I don’t know what that means.”

“Well, it means you value yourself only as others value you, which is often the result of unmet childhood emotional needs.” she explained.

“Oh, well, I had a wonderful childhood.” Penny stated, her voice already starting to crack to which Beverly leaned into her and looked over the rim of her glasses, her gaze fixed on Penny's eyes.

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, my parents were pretty young when she had my siblings and me, so I sometimes felt that raising us was something they abhorred because it took the years of their young adulthood away from them.”

“Did your father give you enough attention?”

“Yes. He loves me. He always played with me and took me out to the farm to learn about the tools of the trade. He even let me work on tractor engines. I got so good that I could rebuild one when I was twelve years old.”

“Really? Those aren't really things a girl does in her childhood.”

“No, I loved to do those things. He also took his time to play catch with me or we threw balls at each other. He gave me my first baseball bat when I was eight and tried to enroll me into the little league team but I didn't make the cut.”

“That sounds as if he was disappointed of your gender.” Beverly stated coldly and before Penny knew it, that sentence struck a cord inside her. She knew that her dad loved her but ever since she was twelve, there was a hesitation towards her. The thought alone was enough for Penny to start crying as they rounded the last corner to the fourth floor.

“I know my dad wanted a boy. I just, I tried being good at sports, but I hated getting dirty!” she said, teary.

“And then, I’m assuming, you entered adolescence.”

“Uh-huh, he called me slugger until I got my first training bra, and then he just stopped playing catch with me. And although he stills calls me slugger, I knew I wasn’t slugger anymore.” Penny sobbed and knocked at Leonard's door, who opened it after a few seconds. “Your mother’s here!” she wailed and he looked at the situation with knowing eyes, as if he had expected something like this.

She headed into her apartment and sobbed some more, years of frustration over her fathers behavior towards her as a kid finally boiling over. She knew that her father loved her and he had made that clear on numerous occasions but this brief talk with Beverly brought all the things she had once buried back to the fore.

When her phone dinged and signaled that her laundry was done, Penny pulled herself up and walked slowly down the stairs into the laundry room. Once there, she put her clothes into the dryer and instead of going back up, she simply waited for it to finish while wallowing in her misery.

Once her clothes were done, she didn't bother folding them and simply threw them into her basket before bringing them into her apartment. She looked at her watch and realized that she had to leave in a few minutes to get to her audition or she would be late. Deciding that the was too depressed to justify the colors of her tops, she took them off and put on a proper bra and an oversized sweater over it.

After donning a baseball cap as a finishing touch, she headed downstairs and into her car.

* * *

Penny looked around and saw numerous other blondes sitting with her in the small waiting room, wanting to do the anti-depressant commercial. She sure could use some of it. Several of the other girls were chatting with each other, grinning wildly and laughing. Penny wanted to hit them all. Beverly's words still rung in her ear, making anything else than self-pity impossible to do. She even had forgotten the kindle that she still hadn't returned to Leonard, although he never asked her for it.

She saw one woman after another being called into the audition room, who left in various stages of happiness, indicating their success at getting a callback. Usually Penny would be nervous and fidgeting in her seat but this time she was indifferent to everything around her. She briefly remembered the last time she had an audition and that had led to an immediate rejection followed by meeting her ex in a grocery store. At least the latter couldn't happen today since Kurt was in prison following his attack on Frank.

“Next.” came the call and Penny got up before walking dejected into the room where she was greeted by three stoic faces.

“So young lady, what makes you think you can do this commercial?” he woman in the middle asked her. Penny simply shrugged her shoulders, too depressed to actually answer.

“I'm sorry, miss, you're still way too perky.” the man on the right told her.

“Whatever.” Penny simply replied and left.

She got back into her car and drove the short distance to the same grocery store she shopped after her last failed audition. She got a cart and went directly to the alcohol section, grabbing a dozen bottles of wine and a few bottles of harder liquor. Remembering Leonard's words, she grabbed a few food items too. She pushed her cart without really looking where she went and was startled when her cart bumped into something solid, making the bottles in it clank against each other.

“Can't you watch where you are going, you...” a familiar deep voice spoke up in anger. “Oh, hello Penny.”

“Oh, hello.” Penny said surprised, looking up at the towering figure of Frank. “I'm sorry, I'm a bit distracted right now.”

“Not to mention probably depressed.” he pointed out, both with his voice and his finger against the bottles.

“Yeah, it's one of those days.” she sighed.

“Problems with Leonard?”

“No, with his mother. She's a horrible person. But enough about me. Leonard told me you're a daddy now. Is Alice here too?” she asked a bit more excited, seeing the diaper bags in Frank's cart.

“No, she's at home with little Thomas. He's just a week old, we think it's too early to take him grocery shopping.”

“Aw, that's too bad, I thought I could see him.” Penny pouted.

“I have pictures if you want.” Frank said.

“Yes please.”

Frank grabbed his phone and opened the folder he had the pictures in. He gave Penny the phone and she scrolled through the pictures, seeing the infant lying in his crib, in his mother's arms, in Frank's arms, or more fitting, in his hands.

“Leonard told me that you had a pretty big baby.” she grinned when she saw the young one in his mother's arms.

“Yeah. The doctor made some calculations and if they come true, he'll be taller than me.” Frank sighed. “Imagine the costs for shoes alone.”

“Wow. And another wow for Alice. She has a better figure a week after giving birth than some people I know who tried for years in a gym.”

“She's a freak in that regard. I'm not complaining.” Frank grinned.

“I'm sure you're not.” Penny laughed, her depression momentarily forgotten. “Although I don't think you need to worry about someone hitting on her when they know you're her fiance. By the way, have you guys set a date yet?”

“Not a fixed one. We thought to wait until Thomas can walk so he can carry our rings.”

“Aw, that's so sweet.”

“Okay Penny, I have to run now. Say hello to Leonard for me, will you?”

“Of course. Say hi to Alice from me and tell her congratulations.” Penny replied and headed to the registers to pay for her stuff.

As soon as Penny drove onto the parking lot of her apartment building, her depression came back full force. Although she probably wasn't home, at some point the woman who made her feel like this today with a few sentences would be up there, sleeping on her boyfriend's couch.

She grabbed the folding basket filled with her shopped stuff and managed to get it upstairs, all those bottles making it difficult to carry due to its weight. As soon as she was back in her apartment, she opened the first bottle of wine and gulped down half of it directly from the bottle.

Sighing, she grabbed her laundry basket and folded her shirts and pants to prevent them from wrinkling even more before putting them away. After that was done, she grabbed a glass and filled it with the wine she had already opened, downing it in three swigs and filling it again. It took her only twenty minutes to empty the bottle.

She put the other bottles into the cabinets and grabbed a second one for her to drink. She turned on her TV and refilled her glass, drinking it slowly this time. While watching the third Lord of the Rings movie, the one she had wanted to watch since Leonard made her watch the first two in Omaha, she downed her second bottle of wine and opened her third.

Once the lead Hobbit was on its way to paradise, she put in another Friends DVD and tried to get her mood up with one of her favorite TV shows but Beverly's words still echoed through her mind, making her more depressed than happy, especially with the current Friends episode playing that depicted the seeming lack of love Monica's mother had for her. She shut off the TV in frustration when she heard someone knocking on her door and got up to open it.

“Hey.” she greeted Leonard, unable to smile.

“You got alcohol?” he asked straight away, without even returning the greeting.

“Your mom still here?” she asked in return to which he nodded. “Come on in. Wait, she’s not gonna come here looking for you, is she?”

“Oh, relax. She took Sheldon to the hospital to get a brain scan.” he replied as he went into the kitchen to grab himself a glass.

“Oh, my God. What happened?”

“Nothing. Mother likes looking at brains and Sheldon likes getting his brain scanned.”

“Gee, what a fun couple.” she said and sat down on the couch as Leonard walked around it.

“She’s only been here a day and I’m seriously considering alcoholism as a new career path.” he told her and she grabbed the wine bottle she had handed him before and uncorked it,

“Hey, I talked to her for five minutes this morning and I’ve been half bombed ever since.” Penny said, the one empty bottle on the table and the other one on the ground evidence enough and she emptied the third bottle of the day into his glass.

“You can’t let her get into your head.” he admonished.

“My head, what about yours?” she threw back.

“It’s too late for me. My head is her summer house.”

“She was right, you know. The locus of my identity is totally exterior to me.”

“Oh, yeah, there she is. Hi, Mom.” he grinned and waved at her head, making her smile a little.

“I mean, do you know where I was all morning?” she asked him and got up to grab yet another bottle of wine. “Auditioning with 50 other blondes for some stupid antidepressant commercial. And for what? So I’ll finally get my daddy’s approval?”

“Did you get the part?” he asked hopeful.

“No, they said I was too perky.” she answered and new tears came into her eyes.

“Hey, you want to talk about not getting love from a parent.” he started. “You know what I used to do when I was little to have some sensation of human contact?”

“Yeah, you grabbed your penis and wouldn’t let go.” she replied and got a confused look from him “Your mother told me.”

“Of course she did. Anyway, that’s not what I was gonna say. When I was ten years old, I built a hugging machine.” he explained.

“A hugging machine?”

“Yeah. I got a dressmaker’s mannequin, I stuffed it with an electric blanket so it would be warm, and built two radio-controlled arms that would hug me and pat my back.”

“Oh, that is so sad.” Penny said and became really mad at his mother for showing him so little love growing up. At least her father loved her, despite the fact that he may be unhappy that she was a girl.

“You know what the saddest part was?”

“What?”

“My father used to borrow it.”

“That's even sadder.” she said.

“Yeah. That's what it was like to grow up in my family.” he stated and downed his glass before refilling it.

“I remember you telling me never having had a birthday party.”

“And the same thing happened for Christmas or other holidays. They were either ignored or used as a basis for sociological experiments on us.”

“I can't imagine growing up like this. Especially since you came out so compassionate and caring.”

“That's why I like your parents so much. Or even Sheldon's mother. Warm and loving, the complete opposite of my parents.” he admitted and sighed, downing another glass of wine before he emptied the bottle into both their glasses, adding the empty one to the two others already on the floor.

After emptying their glasses, Penny was slightly tipsy and Leonard, not used to drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short time, felt the effects as well. Since they were trying to calm each other, Penny decided that something stronger was needed and left the couch to get it.

“Oh oh.” Leonard grinned when he saw the bottle of vodka in one hand, two shot glasses in the other.

“Yeah, I think we need that to make it until she leaves again. When will that be by the way?”

“Tomorrow morning.” he replied. “That's about the only thing I like about her, she only stays long enough to fulfill the minimal social requirement of contact with family. I don't think I could stand her for a week or more.”

“You're welcome to spend the night.”

“And I gladly accept the offer.”

“By the way, did she say something to you about us? So far, almost every other woman knew as soon as she saw us. My mom, Sheldon's mom, his sister.” Penny said while filling the glasses with the clear liquid.

“No, after you knocked on my door and walked off, she told me to find out what kind of aftershave you dad used if I want to have intercourse with you.”

“What does my dad has to do with that?”

“Something about not getting enough love, which I know is ridiculous since I met your dad, but it's all very neuroscience-y.”

“Oh god. Lets just drink.” she said and held up her glass until he mirrored her stance.

“Nas drowije.” he said and clinked her glass before downing his shot after which he saw her confused look. “That's bottoms up in Russian. You know, because we're drinking vodka...”

“Nas drowije.” she repeated and downed her glass as well, feeling the familiar burn run down her throat and refilled their glasses. Getting blasted now could help her build resistance for tomorrows girls night.

* * *

Two hours later, they were both prone on her couch, each with their heads on one of the armrests and their legs around each others bodies. Since her couch wasn't really long, Penny's ass was on his upper chest, her legs to the left and right of his head and her feet hanging off the couch, while his legs were in the same position in regards to her body. Both had a bottle of wine in hand and a long straw in it, taking sips from time to time.

“Seriously, that's messed up.” Penny giggled in drunken happiness, which had come quite quickly after they had emptied the bottle of vodka, adding it to the four empty wine bottles on the floor.

“No it isn't.” Leonard replied. “It would be perfect. Sheldon's mother adopts me, mine adopts Sheldon and everybody's happy. Her caring would even make up for her religiosity.”

“But she's your mother.”

“Only in the regard that she pushed me out of her and raised me. Otherwise she's just some woman belittling me constantly for being not as accomplished as my siblings. I tried my whole life to make her proud but nothing I do is good enough.”

“I think I now know why you are so good at foreplay and sex.” Penny mused. “You're feeling the need to impress and please women in any shape or form.”

“Look who's getting all neuroscience-y now.” he grinned and she playfully slapped his left leg.

“Simply an observation.” she smiled.

“Don't you like it when I lick you?”

“How can you even ask that? I love it when you lick me. I can't get enough of it.”

“Really?” he asked, his insecurities evident.

“Leonard. You have no idea how amazing it feels when your tongue is inside me, moving against my walls. Even if it's not as deep as your cock can go in but the added control you have makes it an amazing feeling. Sometimes I wish you wouldn't stop.”

“If you don't want me to stop, you need to be on top, otherwise it would start to hurt my back at some point.”

“I might take you up on that.” she grinned.

“The fact that you taste great helps with the duration.”

“That's another thing I wanted to ask you about. You always say that I taste great. What does that even mean?” she asked and was marveled by the fact that they could have a discussion like this when more or less stinking drunk.

“It means that you... taste great. I don't know where the confusion lies.”

“Sometimes after you first lick and then kiss me, I taste myself on you and all I taste is...” she hesitated. “Salty is the best way I could describe it.”

“Yes. Salty, even a bit tangy. But what tastes great is the knowledge that I did that. I made you wet like that, made you climax. It's the combined taste of sex and success.”

“You know, sometimes I feel guilty when you make me come with your tongue.” Penny admitted.

“Why?”

“Because I rarely make you come with my mouth.”

“I told you that this isn't a problem, that I'd rather come inside you.”

“Yeah, but what about those seven days a month we can't have sex. You deserve me blowing you every day for everything you do for me.”

“You do it from time to time, I can still feel your lips around my cock from the time you did it in Omaha.”

“But I really don't like your sperm in my mouth. Although I really enjoy giving you blowjobs.”

“Really? That's quite an oxymoron.”

“What's an oxymoron?”

“It means it doesn't make sense. It's like saying you like taking a yodel into your mouth but you don't like the cream inside.”

“Okay, I'll try to explain it.” she sighed and sipped from her wine. “When I get you hard, it's the same feeling for me that you have when you make me come with your mouth. I feel the same thing, I think 'I did that' and it makes me happy. When I make you come orally, I feel even better because I did that with just my mouth. But your sperm, it's icky and thick and bitter. And I really don't like that taste.”

“Huh. Well, as long as you like to blow me, it's okay. I like coming inside you too because your insides are so warm and snug.”

“Yeah I like that too. I love it when you take me hard and rough.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes. When you hit my g-spot I see stars and when you make me climax I can barely think straight, especially when you don't stop while I'm climaxing.”

“Sometimes I fear that I'm hurting you.”

“Why?”

“When you scream. I sometimes think that it's because of pain and not of pleasure. I would never forgive myself if I caused you pain.” he said, very morose.

“As I remember, most of my screams come out when I'm on top. So if I was in pain, I'd jump off you.”

“Okay. And I love it when you ride me. It's such an amazing sight from my point of view.” he said, making her breath hitch with his sincerity.

“And I love to be on my stomach while you hammer me from behind, holding me down and not letting up in your speed no matter how hard I'm coming.” she giggled.

“I'm having a real hard time reconciling your controlling nature with your willingness to submit that control in bed.”

“Well, I'm an enigma like that.”

“That you are. And you are also very horny.”

“How do you know?”

“I can smell your arousal. You are very close to my head.”

“It can't be that strong.”

“No, but I'm sensitive to it.” he said and put his hand over her center, slowly starting to rub it.

She could feel him reacting to their talk when she felt him harden below her. She had been moist for minutes already, the thought of his head between her legs taking up a large part of her concentration, especially when it was so close to her center anyway and now that he was rubbing her as well, it became harder and harder not to push down her pants and simply sit up.

While she still was contemplating that, he took the initiative away from her by hooking his fingers under the hem of both her pants and panties, pulling them down her legs until they pooled at her feet. He grabbed her hips and pulled her the rest of the distance forward before sinking his tongue into her wet heat, making her moan as soon as the contact was established.

“Oh god Leonard, that feels so good.” she panted. “Push your tongue in deeper. Lick me baby, and don't stop.”

Leonard tightened his grip on her hips and pushed her harder against him, doing what she asked by pushing his tongue as deep into her as he could, moving it along her inner walls in rapid speed and thus making her shake in delight. He added even more stimulation when he placed his right hand over her clitoris, rubbing it gently.

“Leonard, I'm coming!” she shouted and this was exactly the situation she tried to describe to him when she said that she liked it when he didn't slow down. When she felt the coil snap, the first thing her body tried to do was get away from his mouth so she could ride it out but he simply held her tight and kept up his ministrations.

It didn't take long for him to make her climax again. And again. And again. And again. It felt as if she was coming nonstop and Leonard didn't show any signs of stopping, following her order to never stop to the letter. 

“Leonard, stop!” she pleaded and he immediately complied.

“Is everything okay?” he asked worried.

“Yes, of course. But if you lick me any more I might explode. I lost count of the orgasms I had already.”

“That might be the result of the alcohol.” he grinned. “But I think, it's my turn now.”

He pushed her legs off him and got up from under her, pulling her up with him and leading her to the bedroom. She was still wearing the oversized sweater and her bra and so far he hadn't made any move to pull it off of her.

“Wait, I'm going to record us.” she said and took her phone, since their camcorder was in Leonard's apartment. As he was taking off his pants, she placed the phone on the nightstand next to her bed and activated the recorder before turning around. He beckoned her over and made her turn around, making her giddy in anticipation, since usually it was her favorite position that came out of him being behind her.

“Oh Leonard, fuck me hard.” she pleaded and attempted to get on the bed.

“Not so fast.” he stopped her with a grin and put her arms behind her back before she heard the click of a pair of handcuffs.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her arousal spiking, knowing that he would never hurt her.

“Since you just had me pleasuring you for a long time, you are going to return the favor.” he hushed, causing goosebumps on her skin.

He pushed her down to her knees and placed himself in front of her. She knew exactly what he was planning to do and she agreed that he deserved that after what he just did to her. She tried to get as comfortable as she could on her knees when he put one hand behind her head and the other under her chin.

“Remember, if it gets too much, tap my legs and I'll stop.” he told her.

Before she could say okay, he pushed his manhood into her mouth. After a few practice thrusts he pushed in deeper and deeper, giving her the opportunity to get used to him. Soon he thrust into her to the hilt, touching the back of her throat with every thrust, forcing her to relax it to prevent herself from gagging.

He groaned loudly every time he was in, which in turn made him stop moving whenever that happened, holding himself buried in her mouth. She flattened her tongue against his shaft, letting it run over every inch of him as he kept thrusting. With a start she opened her eyes when she realized that his suggested method of making him stop by tapping on his legs was impossible thanks to him cuffing her hands behind her back. She could only hope that he wanted to fuck her properly later and not finish inside her mouth.

He didn't seem to be in a hurry as he kept pushing into her mouth in a fast and steady pace, sometimes stopping with the tip still in to allow her to swallow before resuming his movements. She spread her legs apart in an attempt to lower her body to get a better angle when she realized that he was having way too much fun to stop soon. After twenty minutes of getting, for lack of a better term, mouth fucked by him, she made a plan to get him to stop.

“Stop!” she shouted after managing to get him out of her by quickly turning her head when he was in the backwards motion, surprising him enough to overcome his grip on her head.

“Is something wrong? Did I hurt you?” he asked worried.

“No. But I couldn't stop you since you cuffed me.” she panted.

“Oh god, I'm so sorry.” he said and quickly pushed the quick release button the handcuffs.

He got up again and Penny saw him wobbling slightly, the effect of the alcohol finally taking hold. She got up as well and turned around, her own inebriation, which was even worse due to her all-day buzz, making her fall onto the bed.

“Leonard, I have fallen and I can't get up.” she whined and then giggled at her own joke.

“That's okay. Just lift your sweater up a bit and I can look at you like that all night long.”

“I'd rather pull up my sweater and then have you do something more all night long than just looking.” she hushed seductively.

“Really? And what would that be?” he asked her and even in her drunkenness she could hear the grin in his slurred voice.

“Leonard!” she whined. “Get on my back and fuck me hard!”

Leonard didn't any more convincing and jumped onto the bed and her back, fumbling between their bodies to get his manhood lined up, missing a few times which Penny didn't mind because it made his tip rub over her clitoris. Finally, he managed to push into her, ramming himself deep before starting to pound her roughly while his body was pressed onto hers.

“Oh yeah baby, just like that.” Penny panted, the syllables exiting her mouth in rhythm with his thrusts.

As this position usually did, it made Penny's eyes roll back into her skull, the sheer greatness of the feelings he was creating inside her unable to take in. Her head was pressed on the pillow, swallowing up her groans and occasional yells. His thrusts were not as smooth as usual thanks to the vast amount of alcohol he had consumed.

“Harder!” she commanded, feeling the coil tighten hard again. His speed decreased as he tried to follow her order and hammered hard into her.

“You're so tight.” he groaned while he pummeled her.

“Harder!” she screamed, unable to get enough of him.

He increased the force of his thrusts, the speed decreasing once more. Every time he went in, he hit her g-spot hard, making her squeal with the sheer amount of force he was hitting it with. Penny felt the coil in her lower abdomen constrict to almost unbearable tightness and she knew that a few more thrusts would be enough to make her come hard.

Suddenly, instead of the expected feeling of pleasure, her world was filled with a sharp stinging pain as if someone had pushed a thick needle into her. She went ramrod straight, her inebriation momentarily forgotten as her neuro receptors were completely overwhelmed by the pain, while she still heard Leonard groan loud in his own climax.

“Oh my god, I have no idea how you do that with your inner muscles to get yourself so tight but this time you have outdone yourself.” he panted as he unloaded into her, making her glad that he wasn't moving.

While Leonard was pressed to her back and breathing hard, she tried to find out what was causing this pain she felt. Then it all became clear to her and she tried to relax but was unable to while he was still inside her.

“Leonard.” she whispered, trying to keep her voice from cracking as he settled on her, his movements sending more pain into her body.

“Leonard.” she said a little louder, her voice cracking finally and unable to stop a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

“What? What's wrong?” he asked in a concerned voice when he saw her tears. “Oh my god, did I hurt you. Please don't tell me I have hurt you.”

“Sweetie... you're in... the wrong hole.” she managed to get out.

“Oh my god!” he exclaimed loudly and sat up, pulling out of her in the process and the angle of his exit causing another muffled scream of pain from her.

“Leonard...” she tried.

“Oh no. No no no. I hurt you. How could I do that. I'm such a monster.” he rambled and grabbed his shorts, putting them on and grasping for his pants.

“Leonard, wait please.”

“I can't. You must hate me so much.” he said, his voice starting to crack as well. “I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.”

She tried to stop him but was unable to move just yet. She could only watch as he stumbled to the apartment door with his hoodie and pants over his arm, the sobs coming from him audible to her even from this distance. Before she could call out to him, he heard her apartment door open and close. She knew that he didn't do this on purpose and that they had to fix this situation before he drove himself crazy with the thought of having hurt her. She tried to get up but the residual pain she felt plus the inebriation made it currently impossible.

She had thought about anal sex a few times, usually during her period, Cheryl's words about it echoing in her head. But if this was it, she couldn't fathom anyone to actually like it. Maybe she could ask her about it if she was able to overcome her reluctance to disclose that to her friends. Before Penny could delve into even darker thoughts, the alcohol finally pulled her into sleep.

* * *

She woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. Also, she was shivering from the lack of a comforter over her and she felt sticky because she forgot to clean herself up the night before. With some reluctance she dragged herself from the bed and checked her watch to find herself with only a few minutes to get ready for work.

She went into her bathroom and downed some Advil, drinking three glasses of water to hydrate after her binge with Leonard. She sat down on the toilet and did her ablutions before stepping into the tub and letting the water run over her body. Before she got out, she turned the tap to cold and it helped to displace the sleepiness with clarity.

After drying herself off, she dressed in some plain underwear and put on her work uniform. She made herself some coffee and quickly drank it before heading out the door. When she stepped into the hallway, she saw Leonard and his mother, the latter giving him a very reluctant and uncomfortable looking hug.

“Oh, good morning.” she greeted both of them.

“Morning.” Leonard said to her, his eyes downcast and the shame apparent in his voice.

“Look, I think we need to talk about yesterday, don't you think?”

“We don’t have to. Ever. I totally understand if you hate me now.”

“I don't hate you. But we still need to talk. Are you home later?”

“Not before seven. I need to finish an experiment today, since it's Friday.”

“Tomorrow then. And believe me, I don't hate you.” Penny said.

“If it's okay for you two, I would rather not listen to the two of you trying to make up for the inevitable bad thing you two did to each other in what I can assume from both of your postures was a drunken stupor.” Beverly admonished.

“Good-bye, Mother.” Leonard bid her farewell and returned into his apartment.

“Good-bye Leonard.” Beverly said before the door closed and she turned to Penny. “So, slugger, shall we pick up where we left off last time?”

“Where did we leave off?” Penny asked and started walking down the stairs.

“You were telling me about your father being disappointed in your for not being a boy.” Beverly stated coldly and Penny welled up immediately.

“Yeah, I mean I know he still loves me even if I'm not a boy but thinking back I can't not see the disappointment in him when I started doing girly stuff. The look on his face when I came home with my first bra was one of total loss and back then I didn't think of it.”

“And has he stopped doing things with you that he'd normally do only with a son?” Beverly asked calmly, not even fazed in the slightest by Penny's teary blubbering.

“He kept asking me to play catch and always threw the ball in a way that I had to throw myself to the ground to get it. But when I refused he was so disappointed.” Penny cried.

“And what did your mother do about that? Did she see what your father was doing?”

“I mean, my mom could have just said, “Wyatt, get over it, she’s a girl, move on.” But she didn’t. Not one word.”

“Interesting. Would you be willing to fly to New Jersey and discuss your relationship with your parents during a brain scan?” Beverly asked.

“Would it help?” Penny countered.

“Well, it would help me.” Beverly replied and coolly walked to the cab that was waiting for her without looking back once.

Penny wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and got into her car to drive the short trip to the Cheesecake Factory.

After arriving, she got out and started her shift directly, foregoing her habit of sitting down in the employee lounge before the shift. Mainly because sitting down was quite a chore right now. She grabbed her notebook and a pen and waited for a table to wait on. Hopefully this shift would end soon, she still needed to find something to get her mood back up. Maybe the girls night with Cheryl and Kim would help, despite them being way too curious about her sex life.

* * *

Penny had finally been able to go home after a seven hour shift, giving her just enough time to go home and shower before having to go out again. Cheryl had ordered her to come to her apartment at eight. Penny barely had had time to sit down during her shift so her feet were hurting quite a bit.

“Get in here.” Cheryl said and shooed Penny into her apartment.

“Jeez, hello to you too.” Penny said and walked into the living room where Kim was sitting already.

“Ah, now we can begin.” Kim grinned and filled three glasses with wine.

“Begin with what?” Penny asked.

“Well, drinking of course. And you have to talk.”

“Talk about?”

“The picture. And especially why you sent it to us with a smiley that poked out its tongue.” Cheryl said.

With a sigh, Penny went to the couch and finally let herself drop down heavily on it before jumping up again with a painful scream. She had totally forgotten about her hurting ass.

“What's wrong?” Kim asked concerned as Penny rubbed her behind.

“Nothing.” Penny tried to wave off Kim's question and she saw Cheryl grin from her armchair as she wiggled her finger at her.

“Oh my god.” Cheryl laughed as Penny tried to stop her by shaking her head. “You had your first anal sex.”

“No.” Penny tried to deny but she could feel her face blushing.

“Oh yes, you did. I've been there before and I can see the signs clearly.”

“Fine. Yes I had anal but it was an accident and it hurt like hell.” Penny admitted while sitting down gingerly.

“Tell us all about it. You know you can't get out of that.” Kim said and clinked her glass with Penny's, giving her a silent order to drink. Penny sighed and took a big gulp, feeling the need for alcohol in her system to ease her reluctance to tell them about her sex life.

“Well, his mother visited him...”

“That's quite an unusual basis to have anal sex.” Cheryl interrupted, as Kim refilled Penny's glass.

“Very funny.” Penny deadpanned. “Anyway, his mother is a horrible person and I talked with her for maybe five minutes while I accompanied her up the stairs. She asked me about my childhood and the way she did it made me cry. Then I went to that audition that I failed and after buying a lot of alcohol, I went home and started drinking.”

“That's a more likely way to get it.” Cheryl interrupted once more while Penny downed her glass again. Kim didn't lose any time and refilled it again.

“Leonard came over to drink with me, since he felt as bad about his mother as I did. We talked about this and that, mostly sex and landed in bed. There he did me in my favorite position and I yelled out for him to go harder and harder and then, with his last thrust, he accidentally pulled out and shoved it into the wrong hole.” Penny finished in a low voice and downed her wine again in one gulp.

She knew that she wouldn't last long when she continued like this but she couldn't stop herself. She was depressed about what Beverly had said, still physically hurting because of what Leonard accidentally did and embarrassed to have to reveal it to her very nosy friends. It didn't help when both girls started laughing.

“Can we not talk about this for a while? It's embarrassing enough.” she implored her friends and emptied the bottle.

“Sure. Lets talk about the pictures.”

“Oh god. Do we have to?”

“Penny! You can't expect us to not comment if you send us a picture like the one you did two Saturdays ago. I grant you that the other ones might have been an accident but you sent that one on purpose.”

“Fine. I wanted to make you envious.”

“If you don't tell us if what you did took a lot of effort, we don't know if we should be envious. I mean, you already told us that he isn't the most well endowed guy you had.”

“Okay, to stop this argument, yes, Leonard's penis might not be the longest I ever had but he is by far the thickest.” Penny admitted, beet red. “Happy now?” she added and downed another glass.

“Yes, we are.” Cheryl grinned. “But you have just made another argument for us to get him ourselves.”

“Did you relay our offer to do it longer and deeper.” Kim asked, also grinning widely.

“Actually I did. He said, he was willing to do it...”

“WHAT?” both girls shouted in unison.

“...only with me.” Penny finished.

“You're mean.” Cheryl whined.

“Hey, I only quote what he said.”

“Still, that was a low blow, playing with our desires.”

“Girls, I still wonder, what is it with you and your fixation on Leonard? It's not as if you couldn't get any guys you wanted.” Penny said exasperated.

“Penny, we have known you since high school.” Kim started. “You never felt or talked about a guy like this. And we know that you are a private person when it comes to sex, yet you freely share information about Leonard with us, if only to make us jealous.”

“Yeah, I do.” Penny giggled, the rapidly consumed alcohol starting to affect her, something the other girls noticed.

“Why?”

“Because he's such an amazing lover.” she breathed. “And he's all mine.”

Cheryl mentioned for Kim to break out the Tequila, while she grabbed a saltshaker and cut some limes into the slices. Penny groaned when she saw what they were doing but didn't say anything, knowing that she couldn't get out of that.

“Penny, one more thing.” Cheryl said after sitting down again. “About the anal sex. The most important thing you need to do now is do it again, only properly this time.”

“What? It hurt like hell, why would I want to do that again?” Penny asked as Kim put the filled glass of Tequila in front of her. Before she got an answer, she had to take a shot with the girls.

“Because it's the only way to lose the negative connotation you have. That's why I said you need to do it properly.” Cheryl explained.

“What does that even mean?”

“Easy. Make love to Leonard. The normal way. And when you have done that for a while and you feel comfortable enough, tell him to do you anal. But this time, prepare a bit. When I did it, I got a set of lubricated condoms and made the guy wear them.” Cheryl said.

“Did it help?” Penny asked.

“Oh yes! It felt strange at first but after a minute or two it became really great. Everyone feels different about it but I can attest that from my own experience and I have never regretted it. After that first time, I did it without those condoms. Either regular ones or none at all. But most importantly, he needs to do it slow the first time. If he's really as thick as you describe him, he needs to give you time to get used to his girth. It takes longer back there.”

“Oh god, I can't believe we're talking about this.” Penny said and the girls took another shot.

Penny felt a good buzz coming on and started feeling much better than the entire day. This talk with Cheryl really helped and she just needed to make it clear to Leonard that nothing was wrong between them and that she didn't hold it against him, especially since he felt so bad about it.

As they drank a third shot and then a fourth, the warm feeling inside her opened her up even more.

* * *

“And as I was giving him a blowjob, my mother tries to open the door.” Penny laughed as she regaled them with tales of her vacation.

“Oh my god, what did she say?” Kim asked, laughing as well in alcohol-induced bliss.

“Nothing. I had wisely locked the door the evening before because we got interrupted twice before. I just told her we'd be down in a few minutes and then I continued until he climaxed.”

“I wish I had seen that.” Cheryl grinned.

“Well, I did record what he did last night. It looked similar though he was in the dominant position.”

“Penny, we need to see that.” Kim said, shocked.

“Nah uh.” Penny replied and wiggled her finger. “You can look at the picture in the open folder but all the others are protected with a password and I'm not telling you what it is.”

“You're a mean meanie.” Kim whined. “Penny? Cheryl, look, Penny fell asleep.”

“Oh, good.” Cheryl said. “Now we can try to guess her password.”

“How will you do that?”

“Lets see.” Cheryl replied instead and grabbed the phone, clicking the secure folder and seeing the password input window. “So, Leonard... no. Leonard Hofstadter... no. Hmmm, Leonard and Penny... no.”

Kim watched her friend type in one possible password after another, not having any hope that she would find it. So it came as a surprise when Cheryl suddenly let out a yell of exultation.

“Got it! Aw, it's so sweet. Her password is I love Leonard, without spaces. She should really put in a few capital letters to make it harder to guess.”

“That was awesome. There really is a hacker inside you.” Kim said and leaned her head next to Cheryl's to look at the screen.

Instead of starting any video, Cheryl simply copied the contents of the folder to her phone and from there to her laptop that was plugged into her TV. Soon enough, they saw the back of Penny's head and her kneeling handcuffed next to her bed with Leonard standing in front of her. Unfortunately, their placement completely blocked the view of his manhood.

“Holy crap, look at him go.” Kim stated as they watched Leonard holding Penny's head and pushing in and out of her mouth in a rather fast pace.

“And look at her taking it. Although she doesn't have much choice being handcuffed. Never imagined her being kinky like that.” Cheryl replied as the video passed the ten-minute mark. “And no end in sight. I wish he would do that to me. I could to things to him he would dream about.”

“The lamp next to the camera is really distracting. If they move onto the bed proper, we won't be able to watch them any longer.”

They kept watching and saw Penny suddenly turn her head to get him out of her mouth. Both laughed when they heard the reason why they did that for so long and laughed even harder when they saw Penny falling onto the bed and laughing at her joke afterwards, at least until Leonard started to roughly pound her.

“Damn Penny, you sure can take it!” Kim shouted, slapping Penny's leg and thus waking her up again.

“What the hell?” Penny asked when she realized what the girls were watching. “How did you get this?”

“We took it from the folder you so graciously unlocked for us.” Cheryl lied.

“I did?”

“Of course. How else could we have watched it.”

“I guess that's true.” Penny said dejected. “Damn, why did I do that?”

“I don't know. But I must tell you, the placement of the camera sucks. We didn't see anything but the back of your head during the twenty minute blowjob and then only the glare of the lamp on your nightstand.” Kim said.

“I'm so damn tired.” Penny said instead of commenting

“Then maybe we should all turn in. You can stay on the couch.” Cheryl said just as the Penny on the screen cried out in pain. “Ouch, that hurt even me just watching it.”

Penny had already collapsed back on the couch and her eyes were falling shut. She felt more than saw her legs being stretched out on it and a blanket put over her body. While her eyes were closed, she could hear her two friends cleaning up the room and giggling and moaning slightly as they tried to remain quiet while dealing with their own inebriation.

* * *

When Penny woke up, it was dark outside and moonlight shone into the room. She wondered what had wakened her and perked up her ears to listen to any suspicious sounds. Not hearing anything, she went into the bathroom and closed the door to use the toilet and then she drank some water to lessen the effect of the hangover that she surely would have in the morning.

When she returned to the couch, she heard another moaning sound. She tiptoed to Cheryl's bedroom door and found it slightly ajar. Soft light was emitting from the room, making her wonder why those two were still awake. She gently pushed the door open a tad more to look into the room.

The sight awaiting her made her eyes bulge. Cheryl was on her back, legs spread wide while Kim was busy pleasuring her orally. Kim's hands were on Cheryl's breasts whose own hands were pressing Kim's head harder into her, a move Penny had done often with Leonard. She couldn't believe her eyes. Either her friends had went to the other side or they couldn't bear not having anything sexual going on at all after swearing off guys for a while.

“No, don't stop!” she heard Cheryl whine when Kim lifted her head. “I was almost coming.”

“Not yet. First you have to pleasure me.” Kim said.

She watched Kim turning around and sitting down on Cheryl's face before bending her body down and running her fingers over her friend's folds. She denied Cheryl the release she was craving until Kim finally moaned out her own climax which led to a rapid conclusion of Cheryl's need. This all told Penny that Kim was probably the dominant one in whatever this was.

Even after those girls had finished each other off, they kept going. Penny tiptoed back to the couch, pulling the blanket over her head and trying to get rid of those images in her mind. She knew that these two were close friends but she would have never guessed that their friendship went that far. Maybe it was only because of the alcohol.

But Penny promised to herself that she wouldn't mention to them what she had seen today. She had Leonard to pleasure her and if these two needed each other to get over the fact that they couldn't have him, let them be happy. She doubted that they had turned lesbian since they still made all those quips about having her boyfriend for themselves.

With a grin, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. She just needed to talk to Leonard before having sex with him again to make him see that she wasn't mad at him in any form. And maybe she would follow Cheryl's advice to get those special condoms she mentioned to try anal again. But that was in the future. Tonight she had found something she could hold over the girls at an opportune time.

* * *

 

**And I better finish here ^^ The last part was for all out there who wondered about Cheryl and Kim's close friendship :D**

**Review please :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hey there. Finished another one, despite having a guys night followed by a hangover :D**

**Enjoy :)**

****Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.** **

* * *

“I'm coming!” Penny yelled as she fought to get up from the bed.

“Yes, you were. Repeatedly and loudly, I might add.” Leonard grinned from where he lay.

“I forgive you the smugness for now because quite frankly, you have earned it.” Penny said and swung her legs out of bed, only to collapse to the ground when she tried to stand up. “Wow, you totally wore me out.”

“I want to be sorry, but somehow I just can't.” Leonard replied as another knock sounded on the door.

Penny managed to get up and put her robe over her naked body, Leonard's appreciative look moving over her body until she closed the robe and bound it tight. She slowly walked into the living room and closed the bedroom door, mindful that her boyfriend was naked in her bed.

After another thirty seconds and the help of her wall she had reached her door and opened it just as a third set of knocks sounded on it. Outside she found the faces of her two friends looking at her robe-clad body.

“Did we interrupt something?” Cheryl asked with a knowing smile.

“Yeah, sleep.” Penny answered and waved them inside. As the two girls sat down on her couch, Penny slowly walked towards her kitchen. “Want some coffee?” she asked them.

“Never mind the coffee. What happened to you? You walk like someone who got kicked in the crotch.” Kim asked.

“I'm kind of feeling like it.” Penny replied and thought back to the events of the last twelve hours.

After she had woken up hungover on Saturday morning at Cheryl's place after their girls night, Penny had driven home, still grinning over her discovery of the real relationship between her friends. For now she had decided to keep quiet about it, what they did with and to each other was their own business.

Upon coming home, she had found her neighbors gone, making her wonder what they were up to on a Saturday. Usually they were home, playing games or whatever but it had probably been Sheldon again who was still overcompensating for the week she had been away with Leonard.

At least they had returned in late afternoon and invited her over for dinner. Despite the fact that she still fought the residual effects of her hangover, the painkillers were working fine and it had been a fun time, excluding Howard's comments towards her appearance, which was basically asexual due to her choice of clothes that didn't show any curves. 

A casual observer would have thought she had no breasts or ass at all. Only Leonard had looked at her with a mix of repressed lust and also sadness, his remorse about what he accidentally did two nights ago evident in his facial expression. She had decided to take matters into her own hands and after thanking the guys for dinner, she had mentioned for Leonard to join her in her apartment.

He had come over an hour later and before he could say anything, Penny had kissed him deeply to show him that she wasn't mad at him. After that they had talked a long time about what had happened but Penny refrained on telling him what she learned from Cheryl about how to do it again with those special condoms. She was still thinking about that but it would have been too soon anyway.

To really show him that she was still ready and willing, she had pulled him into the bedroom before taking off his clothes and let him take off hers. He had taken his sense of penitence to heart, using his tongue skillfully on her entire body. Yet he had almost religiously avoided getting close to her anus, with whatever body part as if he believed that a simple touch there would cause her more pain.

Not that she had complained at that time when he brought her to several orgasms with his tongue the way only he could. But when the time came for more, he had been strongly apprehensive about entering her until she had lost her cool and thrown him onto his back. To remind him that she wasn't made of sugar, she had grabbed her rubber band and wrapped it around his base before sinking down on him and riding him hard as if her life depended on it.

She had climaxed again and again and again while he held her hips and grunted with the effort. She had turned around and reverse cowgirl'd him, bouncing up and down hard to finally make him see that she didn't feel any pain anymore after an entire day of rest. He had finally understood the cue and then taken a more active role, grabbing her hips and pumping his hips rapidly up and down until she had, after three more orgasms, released him from the rubber band which led to him climaxing with a loud, almost relieved groan.

After their usual shower afterwards, they had snuggled together to watch another of her movies, before she fell asleep with his arms around her. This blissful sleep hadn't lasted as long as she was used to when Leonard had woken her up at just past four in the morning by rubbing his hand over her center, parting her folds with his fingers and dipping them inside.

As soon as he had realized that she was awake, he had turned her onto her stomach and then ninety degrees on the bed so that her legs were stretching over the side. She had wondered what his plans were until he placed himself on the floor in front of her prone body, her head on the same height as his crotch. She had grinned at that and her arousal spiked high when he showed her his dominant side again. Without using his hands this time, he had pushed his manhood into her mouth again, letting her get used to his girth before he started to move.

Since he had licked her for forty-five minutes the evening before, she let him thrust into her mouth for almost thirty minutes, making sure to lift the pressure of her tongue when she felt him go too close to the edge, before tapping his legs to make him stop. True to his promise, he had immediately pulled out with worry in his eyes until she had grinned at him and ordered him to do her hard once more.

Following her orders, he had taken the rubber band again, making her eyes go wide, and entered her in her most favorite position. What had followed was, in her mind, the textbook example of pleasuring a woman. He did her hard and fast at first to make her climax twice before slowing the speed and pressing against her g-spot every time he was inside her and holding himself in there for a few seconds while grinding his hips in a circling motion.

That variation of speeds and technique made her climax more and more while he held her arms behind her back, forcing her to take it, something she had no objections to at all. And after fifty-two mind-blowing minutes, Leonard couldn't hold himself anymore and took off the rubber band, climaxing almost immediately after reentering her before collapsing onto her back, breathing hard with the exhaustion he was feeling and using his inhaler twice.

They had managed to clean themselves up before she had fallen back asleep again. Only this time her sleep was interrupted by the persistent knocking of her friends who apparently had a knack for coming over at the most inopportune moments.

“So, what is the reason for your problems with walking?” Kim asked as the bedroom door opened and Leonard exited, fully dressed.

“That would be me.” he said, with a smug grin Penny couldn't help but return, if only to make her friends envious again.

“You? What did you do?” Cheryl asked Leonard.

“Her.” he simply replied and walked over to her, giving her a kiss. “I'll see you tonight, I hope? I have to head over to Sheldon, we're going to the paintball range today.”

“Have fun.” Penny said.

“You want to come with us? You could be our ringer.”

“Sweetie, I have work this afternoon. So maybe another day. Also, I can barely walk right now.”

“I really want to feel bad about that but is it wrong that I can't?”

“Leonard, go!” Penny ordered and gave him one last kiss.

“Hold on.” Cheryl said as Leonard walked by the couch. “What did you guys do last night?”

“The rubber band.” Leonard replied as he opened the door to the hallway and headed out. “Twice.” he added with a wink and two fingers held up before closing the door, making Penny blush as her friends turned their heads towards her.

“What?” Penny asked innocently.

“The rubber band twice?” Cheryl asked incredulous. “What is he, the energizer bunny?”

“To be honest, it wasn't in a row. Once last night, the other time early this morning.”

“Penny, how many orgasms?” Kim asked.

“Why is that important?”

“How many?” Kim demanded and Penny sighed, knowing that she wouldn't get out of answering that question.

“Both times including foreplay?” Penny inquired and received only a look. “I don't know, eighteen or twenty, maybe more because I didn't really count. Was too busy screaming in pleasure.”

Cheryl stood up and put her hands on Penny's shoulders before sighing.

“Penny, we love you but mark my words. One day I will have his cock inside me. Even if I have to wait years and it's only one time. Or if I have to knock you out and drug him.”

“I concur.” Kim said from the couch.

“In your dreams.” Penny scoffed but smiled. “Coffee is ready, take some if you want, I need to get dressed now.”

“Wait, you are naked underneath that robe?” Cheryl asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“So, Leonard was...”

“Naked in my room? Yes. I told you you woke us up when you knocked.”

“So we could have finally seen him in all his glory just by opening the door?”

“Yep.” Penny grinned and headed into her bedroom, enjoying the groans from her two friends. Boy, she loved egging them on because Penny knew they would probably never risk her wrath.

* * *

After a fun morning with the girls, who had given her a teddy bear as a peace offering for their past wrongs, Penny changed again, this time into her work uniform. It took her an hour but she had been able to get her ability to walk normally back simply by doing some yoga, although it had been weird to do it in front of her friends who had teased her mercilessly because she needed to do it to relieve sex stress.

She was currently sitting in the employees lounge, enjoying her break from the bustling lunch hours and played with her phone. It didn't take long for a message to arrive. She looked at the sender and saw the name of her sweetie on the screen and with a smile, she clicked on the message.

**Would we look stupid when we come into the Cheesecake Factory dressed in camouflage clothing full of paint splotches?**

**To some people, sure. Why? Lost again?**

**Yeah**

**Just come over. If my boss doesn't want you here, he'll tell you.**

**Will do. We'll be there in a few minutes. Sheldon is already complaining about the change in his routine**

**Won't that be a problem?**

**Screw him :)**

**I like your attitude :-x**

Since there was no response to her last message, Penny put her phone back into her pocket and headed out into the restaurant again. True to his word, Leonard and the rest of the group soon entered, clad in camouflage clothing with their helmets in hand and their paintball guns strapped on their backs.

“Hey guys. Fun at the range?” Penny asked them with a grin.

“Sure, if you can call being left to die by your own teammate fun.” Sheldon replied, looking pointedly at Howard, who was the only one without paint on his clothes.

“There were extenuating circumstances.” the engineer protested as the group sat down, after depositing their helmets and guns next to the table.

“What could have possibly been more important than watching our backs as we fought valiantly against the oncoming hordes of ghouls and dirt people?” Sheldon asked again.

“Ghouls and dirt people?” Penny directed at Leonard.

“The anthropology and geology department, respectively.” Leonard explained.

“Something... more important.” Howard tried again.

“And that something was sex.” Penny cleared up.

“How do you know?” Howard asked her.

“You have that I-just-got-laid look on your face.”

“Excuse me.” Sheldon interrupted shocked. “Are you telling me that you have let us get destroyed because you had to fulfill this disgusting human urge of fornication?”

“Yeah.” Howard grinned.

“When we left you, you were alone. Who did you have sex with?” Leonard asked Howard.

“Leslie Winkle. She came in right after you left and one thing led to another.”

“Of all the people you could have slept with!” Sheldon said exasperated. “Why did it have to be that overrated wannabe scientist?”

“There are two ways to look at this. One, you guys got destroyed at paintball, which is bad for you. The other is, I got to have sex with a real girl and you didn't.”

_ 'Oh Howard, if only you knew how much sex Leonard had and has while you hadn't.' _ Penny thought and smiled a knowing smile at Leonard, which he returned.

“Penny, I must say, I am amazed at your ability to recognize the signs of Howard having achieved coitus.” Sheldon told her, making her strangely proud.

“Well Sheldon, that's something most women can do.” she replied to him. “Men not so much.”  _ 'Or you would have realized a long time ago that me and Leonard are dating and doing it, sometimes like rabbits.' _ “So, you guys ready to order?”

“We are only taking a break for drinks, we're not eating here today.” Sheldon stated.

“Sheldon, why would we not eat here today.” Leonard asked.

“Because it's Sunday. Sunday is foreign food day.”

“Then order some Bratwurst. It's German.” Leonard said, while Penny watched the exchange amused.

“I can't order a Bratwurst at the Cheesecake Factory. I eat Barbecue Burgers here.”

“Then order pizza, that's Italian.”

“Actually, the pizza we know today was first created in the United States in the nineteen-fifties. The European and Middle Eastern countries ate flat bread with toppings earlier than that but the pizza that is eaten world wide today with tomato sauce and melted cheese to hold it together comes from this country.”

“Will the gentleman from the great land of Pedantia acknowledge that he either eats here and now or something he has to order and eat by himself later?”

“You do realize that eating an hour too early will massively interfere with my toilet schedule.” Sheldon tried again.

“I think I'll survive.” Leonard said sarcastically.

“Noted.” Sheldon countered, not understanding sarcasm again.

“Sheldon, I could slap some sauerkraut on some burger buns if you want the German experience.” Penny grinned.

“Oh, now you're getting ridiculous.” the lanky physicist said exasperated. “Just bring me a California pizza.” he ordered with a sour look.

“I'll take the Goulash with Macaroni.” Leonard ordered.

“I need some power food to replenish my energy.” Howard said, wiggling his eyebrows. “I'll take a T-bone steak with potatoes.”

“Should I tell the cook to put half of it immediately into a doggy bag?” Penny asked, remembering the last time Howard ordered something like that.

“No, that will be decided if the situation arises.” the engineer replied chastised. Penny wrote the orders down and saw Raj whispering into Howard's ear.

“He takes a sloppy Joe with an extra serving of coleslaw and a side of sauerkraut.”

“Always the faithful Hindu, huh Raj?” Penny quipped and noted the last order.

After getting their drink orders, she brought them to the bar and kitchen respectively and served the drinks as soon as they were ready. Since it was still an hour before the dinner rush would begin, she decided to remain at their table, standing close enough to Leonard to have her hips touch his shoulders, a position he used to rub her bare lower leg with his left arm, a move none of the others could see.

“Howard, you do realize that Leslie isn't a woman made for romantic relationships.” Leonard said.

“Just because you flamed out after one night and one date?” Howard asked and Leonard could feel Penny tense when she was reminded of that time. “Who cares about a relationship, Leslie Winkle is the fifth girl I’ve ever had sex with. I mean, for free.”

“Somehow that's sad, Howard.” Penny mused.

“So? I probably still had more women than the other three in this group.” the engineer said defiantly and Penny thought that he might even be almost right. Leonard had listed his women and they added up to five with her included, she didn't know about Raj, except his night with Cheryl and Sheldon was most likely a virgin. And since Howard just had admitted that he had paid for sex, he had had an unknown number of prostitutes.

“Howard, did you know that...” Penny started, wanting to finally tell him that Leonard had been pleasuring her for more than a year now but before she could say anything else, she saw her manager waving her over. “I'm sorry, my manager wants something. Enjoy your food.”

“Penny, I have a small bomb to drop on you.” her manager told her as soon as she was with him.

“Oh oh. That sounds bad already.”

“Yeah. Clair called, she had a family emergency. Can you work her shift as well? I would switch your shift on Tuesday to her then.”

“How long would I have to work?”

“Til ten pm. I know it would mean a nine hour shift but you would get compensated for overtime.”

“Ok, fine.” Penny said. She would miss dinner with the gang but having Monday and Tuesday off was a nice outlook.

She was about to head back to Leonard's table but the restaurant started to fill with the dinner crows so she had to start waiting other people's tables too. Twenty minutes after her manager gave her another shift to work, the guys were done eating and paid their bills with Leonard leaving her a generous tip that earned him a radiant smile from her and snorts of derision from the other guys.

Watching them leave, she sighed when she realized that anything she might have planned on doing with and to Leonard was probably off the table, since she would only be home at ten-thirty at the earliest.

* * *

As she had predicted, she entered her apartment at five minutes after ten-thirty. She had texted Leonard after she had learned about her longer hours to let him know that she couldn't make it to dinner. But even his words of encouragement didn't help her feet.

She resisted the urge to flop down on the couch because she knew that she wouldn't be able to get up again. Instead, she went into her bedroom and took off her clothes before heading into the bathroom to take a much needed shower. She let the water run down her body and washed the grit of the day off her.

After drying off, she put on her robe without bothering with any form of underwear or pajamas and headed back out into her living room. Since she had the day off tomorrow, she could watch a late night movie or a DVD.

“Hey sweetheart.” Leonard's voice startled her.

“Holy hell.” Penny squealed. “One day I'm going to have a heart attack. What are you doing here?”

“I heard you come home. Sheldon went to bed already and I missed you.”

“That's so sweet.” she said and sat down next to him.

“Come here.” he told her and grabbed her legs, pulling them over his own thighs and making her lie down.

He started massaging her feet and calves, kneading the kinks out of her strained muscles. She closed her eyes and simply enjoyed his ministrations. It wasn't sex, but it was just as great in her current state. She was exhausted and fed up with work today and surprisingly didn't feel any overwhelming urge to throw him onto her bed and riding him until he begs for mercy.

“That feels so good.” she moaned when he loosened a particular tight knot.

“I'm glad. You looked like you needed it after having worked for so long.”

“You have no idea. If I weren't so tired, I'd pull you into the bedroom right now.”

“It's okay. I'm not expecting you to.” he replied and kept massaging. “By the way, I think Sheldon knows about us.”

“How do you figure?”

“I don't know. I mean, I spend last night here and went over there when your friends were here and he sat on the couch and said nothing after I came in. Usually he comments in some way that I used your toilet again because he was in ours and I disregarded the no-drinking-after-ten suggestion or something.”

“Did he say anything to you?”

“No. Maybe it's just my imagination. “

“Lets just go with it. The more you can be here with me, the better.” Penny smiled and moaned as Leonard hit another hard knot in her left foot. “Anything new at work?”

“Actually yes. Today was budget memo day. All of us got our budgets cut to the bone, while Leslie got Howard a new rapid prototyper.”

“How could she do that?”

“She controls some of the unrestricted grant money. And since she's sleeping with Howard, they are scratching each others backs.”

“Isn't that some kind of quid pro quo?”

“Yeah. But this isn't politics, it's not illegal.”

“Won't it interfere with your work?”

“A bit. Sheldon of course had his own way of commenting on that.”

“Why? What did he say?”

“He asked why the university just doesn't let some of us go so they can give him more money for his research.”

“Is he serious?”

“Of course.”

“Boy, that guy is really something.” Penny said. “Will you stay here tonight?”

“Of course.” Leonard replied, pushing her legs off him and standing up. He pulled her into her bedroom and prepared the bed by pulling back the comforter. He took off his robe and got into bed, watching Penny who kept standing next to it.

“What is it?” he asked her.

“Get naked.” she ordered.

“I thought you were too tired.”

“I am. But...” she started and dropped her robe, revealing her own naked body to him. “...I want to feel your skin against mine.”

Leonard didn't object anymore and took off his night clothes. Penny saw his erection rise at the sight of her body, a smile forming on her lips when she saw that she didn't need to do anything more than get naked to arouse him and got into bed next to him. She turned onto her side and felt Leonard shift into her, connecting his front to her back and putting his arm around her waist.

This time, his hand didn't rest on her stomach but higher up, touching the base of her breasts. Penny grinned at his attempts to touch her without actually touching her and grabbed his hand before putting it square on her breast.

“It's okay, you can touch.”

“That won't help with not simply taking you.” he quipped.

“Lets see how we are in the morning.”

“I hope you're aware that I have to get up early.”

“It's okay, I have two days off now and can go back to sleep.”

Leonard settled against her and she felt his breath against her neck. She put her hand over his and sighed contently, his presence behind her already having a calming effect on her. She closed her eyes and like every time he spent the night with her in her bed, she fell asleep almost immediately.

Penny woke up again when she felt Leonard disentangle himself from her and get up. With still closed eyes she flapped her arm behind her, trying to keep his warm body attached to her. She managed to do it for a few seconds but Leonard gently removed her hand from his hip and got up.

“No Leonard, stay in bed with me please.”

“I can't, I have to go to my place and then to work.” he said quietly.

“I was hoping we could have some morning sex.” she replied sleepily.

“Then we should have gotten up sooner, it's almost eight-thirty.”

“Damn. When will you be back?”

“The usual time. Although I have an errand to run today after work. So I guess I'll see you at dinner.” he told her and bent down to give her a kiss, which she deepened immediately.

He pulled back way too soon and left her alone. She sighed and turned around to bury her face into his pillow, taking in his scent and the residual warmth of his body that had been glued to hers the entire night.

Then she remembered him saying that he had an errand to run. He still had these one hour things after work on Monday and Thursday and while Cheryl and Kim told her to trust him, she couldn't help but worry. She was sure that he wasn't cheating, since it would be strange to do it one the same days at the same time but still.

An hour later, she got up and did her morning routine in the bathroom before getting dressed in some dark jeans and her flower motif top she had worn on numerous occasions. She went into her living room and brewed herself some coffee before grabbing a cereal box from her cupboard. Unfortunately, she didn't have any milk so she poured some of the cereal into a bowl and ate it dry like popcorn.

She booted up her laptop and surfed the internet again, watching at the online shoe store she had found a few days ago. She looked at pair after pair and put those she really liked into the online shopping cart, watching it fill more and more. She didn't even look at the price tags and since she still had those two thousand dollars in her bank account from their Las Vegas night, she could afford some new footwear. Suddenly her phone buzzed with a message.

**We just arrived home again. Just to let you know :-x**

She looked at the clock and was startled to see that she had sat in front of her laptop for three hours straight. Shaking her head, she went back to it and tried to scroll through another page but the browser wasn't reacting.

“Oh no, please don't.” she implored her laptop. At least the operating system hadn't crashed completely if her still moving mouse was any indicator. She managed a smile when she realized that her sweetie was home and could surely help her. She grabbed the laptop and headed outside, entering the other apartment without knocking.

“Hey you.” Leonard greeted her from the armchair.

“Hey sweetie.” she replied and went over to him. Since she didn't see Sheldon anywhere, she bend down and gave him a peck on the lips. “Are you alone?”

“No, Sheldon is in his room. What's going on?” he asked, pointing at her laptop.

“I need your help.” she answered and sat down on the left side of the couch, the spot closest to him.

“What's going on?”

“The whole thing froze. I don’t know what happened.” she replied and handed him the laptop.

“Calm down. We’ll figure it out.” he said and started working on it.

“How can I calm down? I’m gonna lose my whole shopping cart. That’s three hours of picking out shoes just shot to hell.”

“Hello, Penny.” Sheldon greeted her when he came into the living room.

“Hello, Sheldon.” she greeted back.

“You’re in my spot.” the lanky physicist admonished and went to his desk.

“Are you planning on sitting here?” she asked him.

“No, I’m going to the comic book store.” came the answer.

“Then what difference does it make?”

“What difference does it make?”

“Here we go.” Leonard threw in.

“That is my spot. In an ever-changing world, it is a single point of consistency. If my life were expressed as a function on a four-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, that spot at the moment I first sat on it would be zero-zero-zero-zero.” Sheldon explained.

“What?” she asked him, confused.

“Don’t sit in his spot.” Leonard summed up Sheldon's speech in five words.

“Fine.” she huffed and moved to the middle seat. “Happy?”

“I’m not unhappy.” Sheldon remarked and left the apartment after grabbing his keys.

“Boy, I love him, but he is one serious wackadoodle.” she told Leonard after the door was closed again.

“Okay, that should do it.” Leonard spoke up with a smile, making her jump up and move behind him to look over his shoulder.

“Oh, thank you. You are a lifesaver.”

“That’s a lot of shoes you ordered.” he remarked.

“Yeah, you know the sad thing is, it’s really not.”

“Yes, it is. Do you really want to spend fifteen hundred dollars on five pairs of shoes?”

“They add up to fifteen hundred dollars already? Damn, I should have looked at the price tags more.”

“Babe, I know women love their shoes but wouldn't one pair be enough for now?”

“You speak heresy! But you're right I guess. But which ones should I eliminate?” she asked.

“Lets see. Do you really need those boots? They look almost exactly like the ones I gave you a while ago.” he said.

“I never realized that. Okay, we can eliminate those.” she agreed and he did, lowering the bill to a thousand dollars already.

“Ok, these ones. I might not be the expert on shoes but even I know they look ridiculous with this small pompom on the tip. As soon as they fall off, which they inevitable will at some point, they will be regular yellow flats you paid three hundred dollars for.”

“Fine, make them go away.” she told him with a heavy heart. She had found them cute.

“Okay, down to seven hundred. Now, those four inch heels? If you want to wear them, we'll look ridiculous when we go out, since you'll be almost as tall as Sheldon in these.”

“But they look amazing. Imagine I had them on while my legs were wrapped around your head or waist while you pound me.” she grinned.

“Wow, that would look amazing.” he smiled back. “Although I won't see them during sex.”

“I do have other heels I could wear in bed. So take them out of the cart.” she ordered him and they were down to two pairs and four hundred dollars.

“Now you have those sneakers and these sandals. I must say, while those sandals would also look great and sexy on you, they look like you'd need about five minutes to put one of them on with all those straps.”

“You have a point there.” Penny sighed. “Fine, take them out too and I'll order the sneakers. I can use them for my jogging and in the gym.”

“Okay.” he said and did as she told him before sending out the order after entering her billing address.

“Ooh, is this one of those paintball guns?” she asked him and grabbed the rifle, handling it with sure hands, since she learned how to handle different type of guns during her childhood.

“Yeah. You ought to come out with us sometime.” he suggested.

“Oh, I'd love to. But remember, I’m from Nebraska. When we shoot things, it’s because we want to eat them or make them leave our boyfriends alone.” she grinned.

“Don't worry, we're wearing protective gear.” he said and ran his hand over the inside of her leg. By accident or on purpose, he went to high and the edge of his hand slammed into her center, making her jump and her finger tightened on the trigger, loosening three shots directly onto Sheldon's spot.

“Oh shit.” Leonard said, voicing her own thoughts.

Leonard ran into the bathroom and she could hear water running before he returned with gloves on and a bucket of water plus a sponge. He wet the sponge and circled it over the paint on the cushion but only managed to spread it out instead of soaking it up with it.

“You think he’ll notice?” she asked hopeful.

“There’s a chance.” he commented, the sarcasm evident.

“What are we gonna do?”

“We? No, no, no, as much as I love the fact that we are in fact a WE, my life here would become hell if Sheldon thinks I ruined his spot. I'd normally take the flak for you but not this time.”

“Why do we have to tell him I did it?” she asked him, conceding his point but making a mental point to punish him later.

“Well, we’re not gonna tell him I did it.”

“Okay, okay, how about this? We tell him somebody broke in.” she grasped at straws.

“Just to shoot the couch with a paintball gun?” he asked incredulous, giving her a what-the-hell look.

“I’m sorry, I buy it. All those people are on drugs.”

“We could tell him they wanted the couch to stay away from their boyfriend.” he suggested sarcastically.

“Okay, fine. Well, what if we just flip it over?” she tried again and did as she suggested, flipping the cushion over to hide the side with the paint. “There. Looks fine, right?”

“Mm, butt print. There’s no discernible butt print.” he interjected.

“Oh, come on.” she sighed and jumped on the couch, wriggling her butt on the seat. “There, butt print.”

“It’s too small and too perfect.” he said and it made her heart melt.

“Thank you.” she turned around and smiled at him, getting a smile in return. “If you had waken me up earlier, you could have had your hands on it while I would have been riding you.” she added seductively. Leonard looked as if he was going to jump her but unfortunately in that moment, they heard the door open and saw Sheldon return. “Shh! Act normal!”

“Sheldon!” Leonard called out loudly and hid his gloved hands behind his back, making her roll her eyes. So much for acting normal. “How was the comic book store? You were there only a short time.”

“It was fine. The new issue of Flash is out, so I got it and we left again.”

“Great, great. How did you get there, by the way? I thought you don't use the bus.”

“Koothrappali drove me.”

“Isn’t that terrific? He is such a good friend. You know what the best thing about friends is?” Leonard asked and Penny had a hard time not smacking his head for his behavior.

“They don’t talk incessantly for no particular reason?” Sheldon asked him, making Penny's point verbally.

“No, no, friends forgive the little things.”

“You know, I gotta go home and wash my hair.” Penny threw in and turned to leave.

“Don’t you dare, missy.” Leonard stopped her.

“Hello, fastest man alive. Want to see me read your entire comic book?” ” Sheldon greeted his comic book and flipped it open and close. “Want to see it again?” he added and sat down, immediately starting to move around on it, trying to find a good way to sit. “Something’s wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure.” Sheldon replied and wriggled his behind like Penny did before. “It doesn’t feel right.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Leonard said and to Penny's horror, Sheldon got up and picked up the cushion, turning it around and seeing the paint stain. “Oh, that. There was a little mishap.”

“A little mishap?” Sheldon squealed. “A little mishap is you making a mistake in your calculations and burning a hole in the wall with your laser. This is a catastrophe.”

“It's not the end of the world.”

“Leonard!” Sheldon said, his voice attempting to sound menacing. “If you had anything to do with this, I will become very uncomfortable to live with.”

“Okay, Sheldon, this is enough.” Penny interrupted him. “It was my fault. I was holding the gun in my hands and it went off suddenly.”

“You must have pulled the trigger. How else can it go off suddenly?”

“Maybe someone forgot to switch on the safety.” Leonard admonished.

“Don't you dare put this on me.” Sheldon countered.

“Sheldon, I'll take the cushion to Wong's dry cleaning and have it cleaned.”

“Wong's? He's a key maker.”

“He also cleans clothes and other forms of fabric.” Penny said and took the cushion.

“I will head into my room. Come and get me at dinner time. Otherwise do not disturb me.” Sheldon huffed and left for his room.

“That went better than I expected.” Leonard said.

“Want to come over?” Penny asked him.

“Sure. Anywhere but here.” he replied and grabbed her laptop.

Both left his apartment and went into hers. Penny put the cushion against the wall with the dirty side out to avoid a stain on her wallpaper and turned around to give Leonard a deep kiss after he had placed her laptop on her table.

“Mh, I wanted to do that all day.”

“You did, this morning.” he said and grinned. “Since we don't have to deal with Sheldon anymore, want to go out to lunch? We could take the cushion to this dry cleaner of yours on the way.”

“That's a great idea! Let me get my purse.”

As Penny did as she said, Leonard grabbed a large plastic bag, big enough to fit the cushion in. He clutched it under his arm and both went outside and down the stairs. As soon as they were out, Leonard made for his car but Penny grabbed his hand and pulled him on along the sidewalk.

“It's only two miles away, we can walk the distance.” she said and linked her fingers with his free hand.

As they walked the distance, Penny noticed some people around them giving them odd looks, especially younger guys who she would have considered to be suitable bed mates before meeting Leonard. She didn't know if they got those looks because of the large bag Leonard was carrying or the fact that she was walking hand in hand with him. She hoped it was the first reason because she was getting really sick of the second.

After reaching the cleaner, Penny told the owner what do to and got the receipt to pick it up later. Unfortunately, later meant in a few days which meant that they had to deal with a cranky Sheldon for the rest of the week. She had implored Mr. Wong to hurry up but while he had promised that he'd try, she didn't really have hope.

They had to walk another mile but they found an Italian restaurant to eat in. They had no reservations but since it was slightly after lunch time, many tables were free and they didn't have to wait. The waiter gave them each a menu and placed a small basket with bread sticks on the table before taking their drink orders.

“It's nice to be waited on for a change.” Penny grinned.

“I can imagine. At least you usually have well-behaved guests.”

“If you count out the boys who try their hardest to impress us waitresses. As if snorting your drink through your nose is something women swoon over.”

“Guys really do that? I thought that only happened on TV.”

“You have no idea.”

“May I take your order now?” the waiter inquired after returning to their table and placing their drinks on it.

“Yes, I'll have the Spaghetti con carne.” Leonard ordered.

“What's that?” Penny asked.

“It's Chili con carne but instead of rice or nothing, we put it on Spaghetti.” the waiter explained.

“And that's edible?” she wanted to know.

“Oh yeah.” Leonard answered instead of the waiter. “In my opinion, the kidney beans make it even better with the spaghetti.”

“Okay, I'm intrigued. If I weren't a vegetarian, I'd try that too.” Penny told the waiter.

“We have the vegetarian option, it's directly below the order. It's called Spaghetti sin carne.”

“Oh, then I'll take that.” Penny ordered.

“Very good. It will take about fifteen minutes.” the waiter said and took the menus back before leaving them alone.

“Penny, I wanted to ask you something but his might be a bad time.” he started.

“What is it?”

“Well, every morning when we wake up together, I haven't seen you taken a pill in weeks. Do you think that's wise?” he asked and lifted his glass to take a sip.

“Oh, I haven't taken any because I want to have your child.” she told him and he snorted out his ginger ale through his nose, making her laugh. “You see? That happens in real life too.”

“Penny, do you really...”

“No, I got an IUD. I was tired of forgetting to take the pill, so I used some of the money from Vegas to get it.”

“When did that happen?” he asked and cleaned his face with a napkin.

“The week after we came back from Omaha. As an added bonus, it prevents menstrual bleeding and cramps, at least in my case.”

“So that's why we hadn't had to take any period breaks since then. I was wondering about that.”

“Well, you'll still know when I have it, because it still makes me hornier than usual.” she grinned.

“Good to know. And that explains some days when you seemed especially insatiable.” he smiled back just as their waiter brought them their food.

Penny had to admit, it tasted amazing. The spicy chili gave the meal an extra kick and the spaghetti filled her stomach pretty nicely. She had to laugh when she looked at Leonard right after he sucked a few noodles into his mouth and looked like a toddler who tried a meal like this the first time with the sauce surrounding his lips until he wiped it off with the napkin. Unfortunately her own attempts to stay clean were not fruitful and with some horror she saw several drops hit her shirt and pants.

“Oh no.” she sighed.

“What is it?”

“I dropped some sauce on my clothes. I need to get them soaked before it's too late.”

“What if we ask for a bucket, so you can soak your shirt right away? Of course, that depends on what you wear under it.”

“Sweetie, what I wear underneath this shirt is not something I want to show to anyone other than you.” she winked at him.

“Then lets pay up and take a cab. We're done eating anyway.” Leonard said and mentioned the waiter to them to ask for the bill. After cleaning up their dishes, the waiter brought the piece of paper to them and Leonard paid before they quickly left the restaurant to head home again. The cab driver hurried up and only ten minutes later they were on their way up the stairs.

“Okay, that went quicker than I expected.” Penny said as they reached the fourth floor.

They went into her apartment and Penny hurried into the bathroom, quickly taking off her pants and shirt and putting it into the sink which she filled with water and some detergent to let them soak. She heard Leonard whistling appreciatively and turned around to face him.

“Yes?” she asked playfully.

“When did you get see-through underwear?” he inquired with raised eyebrows.

“In Omaha, when we went shopping, remember?”

“Wow.”

“Is that all you have to say?” she grinned.

“Holy shit.”

“And?”

“For the love of god, I want you bad.”

“That's what I wanted to hear.” she smiled and walked into his arms, his hands going directly to her bare cheeks.

“Hey, I wanted to ask before, did you get even more of these care bears that freak me out every time I'm here?”

“Yes, two more. This small one I got one as a merchandise gift when I bought a new bra while ago, don't ask me why they gave out bears.” Penny replied, pointing to a small one before moving her finger to a larger one sitting above her bed. “And the big one is a gift from Cheryl. She gave it to me this morning as a sort of late peace offering for stealing those videos a while ago.”

“That's nice of her. Although peace offerings usually come shortly after you did the bad thing.”

“It's the thought that counts. And now get naked.” she ordered.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an apartment twenty blocks away, two young women were sitting next to each other in front of a laptop, listening to their best friend and her boyfriend.

“If she takes a close look at that bear you gave her, she will literally kill us.” Kim said to Cheryl as they heard Penny's moan from the speakers.

“You really need to look at it to recognize the right eye as a microphone.”

“Don't you think what we're doing is wrong? And probably illegal too.”

“Hey, it's not as if we want some passwords from her. Only once I want to hear her say how big Leonard's cock is and I'm happy. And as long as we don't mention any of what we are hearing around her, she shouldn't get suspicious. Also, it's a lucky break that we caught them live right now.”

“What do you think they are doing now?” Kim asked her, listening to the sounds coming from the speakers.

“Probably the sixty-nine. Her moans come out like she has something in her mouth, probably him, and if you listen behind the moans, you can hear the sounds of licking.”

“If you weren't watching a video of them every day, you wouldn't be this desperate.” Kim laughed, watching Cheryl go beet red.

“I didn't see you turn away.”

“I know. It's like a car crash, you can't look away. Especially if you want to experience that.”

“I keep dreaming about him doing me for an hour, like he did her in that ten hour long video.” Cheryl admitted.

“Are you sure you don't have deeper feelings for him?”

“Pretty sure. I don't want something longer lasting with him, just sex.” Cheryl grinned.

“Yeah, as long as they stay together, you will have to wait because if you really try something, Penny will give you a punishment that would make Torquemada throw up in disgust.”

“I know.” Cheryl sighed. “Hey listen, they are done with foreplay.”

They heard the telltale sound of skin rapidly slapping against skin, indicating that whatever position Leonard and Penny were doing, he was the active part. He seemed to be doing very good job again if Penny's screams of pure pleasure were a sign. After listening to their friend cry out a second orgasm, the room went quiet once more.

“Looks like they are done.” Cheryl said. “You want to do something?”

“Sure.” Kim said and stood up, taking Cheryl's hand and pulling her into the bedroom as well.

* * *

“Wow, that was amazing.” Penny panted, still with her back on top of him and his manhood inside her.

“Yeah.” Leonard could only say and caressed Penny's breasts.

“Hey, there is something I wanted to ask you at lunch. Why were you guys even home this early?”

“Due to the budget cuts I can't do some of my experiments since I ran out of the materials I needed. And I won't get more until next month so if I don't have meetings or lectures to give, I can basically work wherever I want since all I can do is theoretical stuff.” he replied as Penny climbed off him.

She handed him a wet wipe and used some herself before putting on the underwear again that Leonard had so unceremoniously ripped off her. When Leonard was done donning his own, she climbed back into bed and put her head on his chest, enjoying the contact.

“And why is Sheldon back too? He doesn't do experiments, does he?” she asked.

“No, he needs his budget mostly for sharpies, whiteboards and snacks to keep him happy. He also can work from pretty much anywhere.”

“How does your research work anyway? Does the university give you money or someone else?”

“Um, I'll try to explain it the easiest way I can.” he started and settled himself, pulling her even closer, something she had no objection to at all. “Imagine you own a company that wants to test something. Now, you can either build your own lab and equipment, hire researchers and do the experiments yourself or you choose the cheaper way and outsource that to a university.”

“Okay, so far I understand.” she interjected.

“Right. When we do experiments and research for private companies, we have usually non-disclosure agreements. They give money to the university and the university assigns one or more of us to these experiments. That's why I worked with Leslie pretty often before you and I met. And what makes universities keep scientists on their payroll is our ability to get grants.”

“You said something about that before but I didn't get it back then.”

“Well, usually I try to find out if I can do a certain experiment or a series thereof or some research. Then I write a grant proposal and if it's granted, I get money to do my experiments. Remember the time I was in that laser lab and you got naked and I burned a hole in the wall?” he asked and she nodded with a grin. “That was a private research grant. The university got money to let them use its room and equipment and I got a certain amount of money to do the experiment. I have pretty much free reign about how I spend the money but I can't simply go out and take a world cruise because then I will run out before ending the experiment and then I get in real trouble.”

“So what about Sheldon?”

“That's different. He doesn't get that much money since his research doesn't require complex equipment. He buys red vines and other things with the money.”

“Well, there is one good thing about you having less to do at work.” Penny grinned.

“I agree. I can be with you more.” he smiled back.

“You just read my mind. And now kiss me.”

He did as she told and lifted her head by her chin to kiss her. She let their lips roam across each other for a while until she nipped at his lower lip to signal him to let her in. As soon as their tongues touched, she moaned and pulled her body up to deepen the kiss while his hand went down her body to cup her ass.

“I need to pee.” Penny mumbled against his lips after they had kissed a while.

Leonard released with a laugh and she quickly got up and went into the bathroom. She did her ablutions and washed her face and lower body before heading out to find the bed empty. Frowning, she went into the living room and saw Leonard putting on his shoes.

“Are you leaving?” she asked, surprised at sounding so needy.

“Yeah. I thought of going to the bakery two blocks away and getting some pastries. Then we could have some afternoon coffee.”

“Wait, I'll come with you.” Penny said and quickly went into the bedroom again to get some clothes. She grabbed her jeans and put one a yellow top with spaghetti straps and a thin red flower shirt over it that she knotted under her breasts.

Leonard waited for her as she got ready and they headed out together. As soon as they were outside, Penny slung her arms around his waist and pressed herself hard to him, a move he mirrored immediately. Arm in arm they walked the blocks to the bakery Leonard had mentioned and Penny could smell the products on the wind.

They went inside and Penny's mouth watered when the full olfactory onslaught hit her. She got two bear claws and a strawberry muffin for herself while Leonard bought himself a large piece of blueberry pie and a bear claw as well.

After a hurried return to her apartment, Penny put a Sex in the City DVD in her player, much to Leonard's dismay, continuing to fulfill her promise to him to make him watch the entire show some day. Leonard brewed some coffee and less than fifteen minutes later, they were sitting on her couch, her head against his chest and consuming the food they bought.

Leonard for his part decided that if the price for having Penny in his arms was watching a show he couldn't care less about, he would pay it every day.

Unfortunately, their bliss couldn't last because as soon as soon as dinner time rolled in, they knew that Sheldon would come bother them because he had a schedule to keep. With a sigh, Leonard extricated himself from her and went out to buy the dinner for himself, his girlfriend and the rest of the gang.

* * *

Penny waited until Leonard returned and headed out as soon as her sweetie reached their floor. Together they went into 4A and she went directly to the chair next to Leonard's armchair to be as close to him as possible and also to prevent having to sit on the couch with a cranky Sheldon.

After Leonard had handed out everyone's food, Sheldon started to move around the apartment to find a place to sit. Every time he sat somewhere, he moaned in rejection, quickly getting on everyone's nerves, especially when he placed himself on the back of Leonard's chair before doing the same on the arm of the couch, next to his spot.

“Why don’t you just eat in your desk chair?” Leonard asked, already fed up with his roommate's antics.

“Why don’t I just eat in my desk chair?” Sheldon returned.

“Here we go.” Penny threw in, mirroring Leonard from the day before.

“That is my desk chair, that is where I work. I don’t eat in my desk chair and I don’t work in my spot. I work in my desk chair and eat in my spot.” Sheldon explained.

“Wackadoodle.” Leonard said to Penny, mirroring her exclamation and making her smile. “But Sheldon, you already worked while sitting in your spot. I remember it clearly, it was one of the days Ramona was here and she gave you a pedicure while you worked, sitting on the left side of the couch.”

“You know, there’s kind of an obvious solution here.” Howard threw in and turned to Raj, telling him to get up before moving the cushion Raj had been sitting on to Sheldon's spot. “There. Problem solved.” he proclaimed, after which Raj whispered into his ear. “Nobody cares where you’re going to sit. You’re not crazy.”

“Excuse me, but the problem is not solved. If your head had been accidentally amputated, and we transplanted a dog’s head in its place, would that be “problem solved”?” Sheldon inquired.

“If it were your head, it would be.” Leonard deadpanned.

“Sheldon, I am really, really sorry, but it’s only for a few days. Can’t you be a little bit flexible?” Penny asked him and received pointed looks from everyone. “Yeah, sorry. I didn’t really think that through.”

“You claim it’s going to be a few days, but I have no faith in your dry cleaner.”

“Why not?”

“I told you before, he’s not a full-time dry cleaner. He also makes keys.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Sheldon.” Leonard spoke up in an exasperated voice.

“Focus is important. Was Michael DeBakey a wedding planner in between heart transplants? Did Alexander Fleming moonlight as a hairdresser? “Thanks for discovering penicillin, now how about we try a bouffant?”” Sheldon started but luckily he was interrupted by Howard's phone ringing.

“Ooh, looks like I’m gonna have sex tonight.” the engineer proclaimed after seeing the caller. “Hey, baby…”

“His right hand is calling him?” Penny whispered to Leonard.

“No, it’s Leslie Winkle. He told us they were doing it, remember?”

“I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.” Howard finished his call. “Gentlemen, adieu.”

“I thought we were going to play Halo tonight.” Leonard said.

“What am I supposed to do, Leonard? There’s a woman out there anxious to have sex with me. You understand, right?” Howard directed the last question to Penny.

“No. Not at all.” she replied, truthful because for the life of her she couldn't fathom someone actually wanting to have sex with a creep Howard.

“Nevertheless, I must depart. By the way, did I tell you? Leslie pulled some strings and got me on the research trip to Geneva to check out the CERN Supercollider.” Howard said proudly.

“That’s not fair. You’re not even a physicist.” Leonard complained.

“Okay, there are two ways of looking at this…” Howard started but Leonard interrupted him and told him to leave which the engineer did immediately.

“I must say, this is really an abuse of power on Leslie Winkle's part, giving away trips to Geneva just because Howard is giving her coitus.” Sheldon remarked. “Leonard, if you had been better at coitus with her last year, we would be going to Geneva.”

When Sheldon finished his admonishment, Penny had a hard time not to break her plastic fork in half at the thought of Leonard doing to Leslie what he does to her. She knew that Sheldon wasn't implying for Leonard to do sleep with her again, at least she hoped he wasn't, but the thought of Leonard sleeping with that woman again made Penny's blood boil.

“Sheldon, at this point I'd rather take Penny to Geneva than you.” Leonard said, making her mood improve immediately.

“Really?” she squeaked.

“Leonard, while Howard isn't a physicist, he's at least an engineer. But Penny's not even an academic, why would you take her with you?”

“She's much better company than you.”

“If that's your attitude, you can spend the time until my cushion is back in her apartment. Spending the nights on her hard couch will teach you to talk back to me like that.” Sheldon stated.

“You really want to ban me again from the apartment? How will you get to work?” Leonard asked, making Penny wonder if he didn't want to spend time with her.

“I can easily work from home.”

“Fine.” Leonard said.

“Wait a minute.” Sheldon interrupted. “You don't even know if Penny offers you to stay.”

“Fine by me.” Penny piped in.

“Now wait a minute, Penny.” Sheldon turned to her. “You can't just accept him into your apartment.”

“Why not? You just ordered him to do it.”

“To make him come around to my point of view. How am I supposed to get my way if you keep interfering with my attempts at punishment?”

“Then you should think about this further before doling it out.” she said and turned to her boyfriend. “So Leonard, you want to spend the nights on my couch?”

“Lets see. Spend the night on your hard couch and maybe getting back pain from it or stay here and do what Sheldon wants to do.” he mused to himself and Penny could see a self-satisfied smile appear on Sheldon's face. “I grab some clothes and then we can go.”

“No no, you can't take him away. I need Leonard here to take my complains about my missing cushion.”

“So you don't want to ban me?” Leonard asked.

“Don't be funny, of course I want to. I just don't think it would be practical for both of us if you keep standing up for yourself today.” Sheldon replied.

Penny and Leonard looked incredulous at each other and without a further word, Leonard went into his bedroom to grab the already packed overnight bag from under his bed. He checked to see if it contained enough for a few days and after putting in some more socks, he grabbed it and went back out where Sheldon stood by the door.

“If you really go with Penny, I will promise you to knock on her door very often because you have to drive me wherever I need to go.” he stated.

“Then I will go to a hotel and I won't say which one.” Leonard said defiantly and grabbed his laptop.

“Fine. Penny, you will have to drive me to the comic book store, take me grocery shopping and whatever else comes up.”

“Leonard, are you willing to share a hotel room for a few days?” Penny asked.

“Sure. I know a place that has fair prizes for pretty good rooms.”

“Okay. I'll go check my overnight bag and then we can head out.” Penny said and walked towards the door, Leonard in tow.

“But you can't leave. Who will drive me around?” Sheldon asked panicked.

“Ask our other friends.” Leonard said and followed Penny outside, grabbing the doorknob to close it.

“Raj, it seems like you're in luck.” Sheldon said.

“Nooooo.” they heard the poor Indian wail before the door was closed.

“I need a room for two.” Leonard said to the receptionist, a middle-aged with receding hairline but very friendly manner.

“Certainly. For how long will you be staying?”

“Um...” Leonard started and looked to Penny.

“Mr. Wong said he'll have it clean on Friday.” Penny clarified.

“So, until Friday.” Leonard said to the receptionist.

Leonard got the key card and both headed up the stairs to the third floor, the lack of an elevator not even noticed by them due to their own apartment block. As soon as they were in the room, Leonard placed his bag on the floor next to the bed and turned back to Penny, who simply stared at him.

“So, you wanna do anything?” Leonard asked her and noticed her look. “What?”

“Oh, I wanna do something, alright.” she replied in a sultry voice and stalked slowly towards him, every step measured and enjoying the look of both arousal and slight intimidation in his eyes.

“And what would that be?” he croaked out.

“I thought of showing you why they call me a big ol' five.” Penny whispered as her lips were only an inch from his before connecting.

She shoved her tongue into his mouth and grabbed his arms, placing his hands on her butt and letting him squeeze her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer, grinding her chest and lower body against his and feeling his erection growing in his pants. A quick pull at his belt and zipper later, his pants were pooled at his feet and he kicked them away without a second thought.

She briefly broke the kiss to pull his hoodie and shirt over his head, revealing the chest that she loved to rest her head on before kissing him again while his hands opened the knot of her overshirt and pushed it down her arms. Her own pants followed it and his hands went back to her cheeks. Since she didn't think this hotel visit would happen, she hadn't bothered to put on any special sexy underwear but he didn't seem to mind, simply pushing the fabric into the middle and revealing her cheeks.

When his fingertips started dipping between her folds, she couldn't take it any more. She pushed him down onto the bed and mounted him, simply opening the buttons of his shorts and pushing her panties aside to sink down on him. Putting her hands on his chest for leverage, she started grinding rapidly, the springs of the bed screaming out their strain as she rode him hard and fast.

She didn't let up in her speed and didn't know if he was thinking something unsexy but he was able to hold out for eighteen minutes before he released with a loud groan. She kept riding for another minute and fell off the edge again, bringing her count to four and collapsed on his chest. He grabbed her head and turned it towards his face, planting his lips on hers. She let her tongue dance with his, their lips still separated to make it easier to breath. After a few minutes of counting down, both went into the bathroom to clean up and returned to the bed.

“Wow. Am I glad that you are a big ol' five.” Leonard grinned as he got comfortable.

“I bet you are.” she smiled back at him and went into the bed beside him, snuggling her body into his and wrapping both leg and arm around his body. “So, any plans for the few days we're here?”

“We could go out, have something to eat or whatever, or we could stay here these three days and enjoy each other without interruptions.” he suggested.

“I like the second idea. But we should buy some food at least.”

“Yeah, we should. Since this hotel doesn't have a restaurant, the owners don't mind if you bring your own foodstuffs.”

“I was wondering why the room had this small kitchen area. Come to think of it, if the bed was in a separate room, this could almost be my apartment in its design.” she said, looking around.

“Your right, I never saw that.”

After a short nap, they did as Leonard suggested and went out, going to a nearby store to stock up on some groceries they'd need for the next few days. While Leonard could work from the room, she had unfortunately not the same luxury and in the mornings, she got dressed and reluctantly headed to work, getting those envious looks from her two friends and colleagues again.

Those days ranked close to the week in Nebraska in terms of enjoyment. Whenever she came from work, they spent their time mostly in bed, fooling around, kissing and having copious amounts of sex in every conceivable position, both foreplay and actual intercourse.

During Thursday night, they had made a bet to see how long he could pleasure her with his mouth and who would surrender first. If he won, she would have to go to paintball with them. Much to her surprise and some chagrin, she had to tell him to stop after three hours of his tongue moving inside and against her, the pleasure becoming almost unbearable, but when he almost sagged into the mattress in relief, she knew that if she had borne it for a few more minutes, she'd have won the bet.

It came almost as a surprise when she woke up on Friday morning. She pulled herself from the bed with great reluctance, knowing that after today she'd sleep in her own bed again where Leonard's presence wasn't guaranteed. After their last breakfast in this room, she gave him a long kiss as both goodbye and thank you and headed out while he took care of the packing and paying.

* * *

After her shift, she headed home and stopped at Wong's dry cleaning on the way, picking up the now clean cushion. With it in the backseat of her car, she drove the rest of the way and headed into her apartment, quickly undressing and heading into the shower.

Once that was done, she dressed in some plain underwear again and put on a blue undershirt and a brown overshirt with flowers that surrounded the chest area like a necklace plus some dark blue jeans. Deciding that she didn't want to put if off much longer, she took the cushion out of the zipper bag and went outside. She knocked at the door with her feet and soon enough, Leonard opened the door.

“Here you go. Fresh from the cleaners, good as new.” she proudly proclaimed.

“Great. Sheldon, look, good as new.” Leonard said to his roommate, who was squatting in his spot, bowl in hand.

“From that key maker, I highly doubt it.” came Sheldon's doubtful reply.

“Come on, Sheldon. Just give it a try.” Penny implored him.

“All right.” the lanky physicist agreed and stood up, upon which Penny went to the couch and placed the cushion into the empty space it usually occupied.

“There, nice and comfy cozy. Zero, zero, zero.”

“There’s one more zero. You forgot the time parameter.”

“Sit on the damn couch.” she told him forcefully, making him flinch and she stepped back behind Leonard. Sheldon bent over and looked at the cushion, smelling it and doing whatever his crazy mind told him to do.

“Nope.” he finally said and straightened up again.

“What do you mean, nope? What’s wrong with it?” Penny asked exasperated.

“Nothing, it’s what’s wrong with him.” Leonard clarified.

“It’s exactly the same…” she started but Leonard interrupted her.

“Penny, I think I know what to do.” he told her and turned to his roommate. “Sheldon, I have some bad news.”

“More?” Sheldon asked with raised eyebrows.

“I’m afraid so. You know the cashew chicken I get you Monday nights?”

“Yes. From Szechuan Palace.”

“Szechuan Palace closed two years ago.”

“What? Where did my cashew chicken come from?”

“Golden Dragon.” Leonard said and Penny couldn't believe that Sheldon didn't know that since she and Leonard had eaten there several times already. It was the same building but with new owners.

“No. No, this isn’t right. Our food always comes in Szechuan Palace containers.” Sheldon almost whispered and Penny conceded that this did sound strange.

“Yeah, well, before they went out of business, I bought four thousand containers. I keep them in the trunk of my car.” Leonard explained.

“But...” Sheldon started and collapsed on his spot. “Oh, this changes everything.”

“I thought that might take his mind off the cushion.” Leonard said to Penny.

“You did make that up, right?” she quietly asked him, his hand on his shoulders.

“I wish I had.” he replied dejected.

“Leonard?” Sheldon spoke up.

“Yeah, buddy?”

“I still don’t like this cushion.” Sheldon said and Leonard collapsed on the couch. Penny had to fight hard not to simply follow him down. Instead she bent down to plant a kiss on his cheek before heading back home. When she got into the hallway, she came face to face with two familiar faces.

“Hey you two.” Penny greeted her best friends. “What are you doing here?”

“Can't we just visit for no reason?” Cheryl asked.

“Very well, come on in.” Penny said after a few seconds and led them inside.

But before Penny could break out the wine, a knock came on her door and it opened, revealing her sweetie entering her place with a large package in one hand and a bag in the other.

“Hey stud.” Kim greeted Leonard with a big grin.

“Hey girls.” Leonard replied, calm as they come. “You're here for more information about my body and abilities how to use it?”

“Leonard!” Penny admonished, not believing how easily he egged them on.

“Penny, I wanted to remember you that we head out to the paintball range in an hour.” he told her.

“Do we have to?”

“Yeah. It's today and you lost the bet. But I knew that you were still a bit disinclined so I got you something, apart from your camouflage gear.”

“What is it?” she asked and he handed her the package. She ripped open the package and found a smaller one inside, the shape and design known to someone like her. “You got me shoes as a bribe?”

“Yeah. I hope you like them.”

Opening the box, she found a beautiful pair of high heels, the same ones she had had on her shopping list when her computer froze and that would make her way too tall for him if they went out while she wore them.

“Oh my god. Leonard, I thought you didn't like them for their height?”

“True. But when you said you'd wear them while your legs were wrapped around my head or waist, it struck a cord inside me. Also, you can wear them when you go out with your friends.” he said.

“I bet I know which particular cord I struck when I said that.” Penny grinned and stepped closer to him, cupping him between his legs and starting to rub her hand up and down only for her to remember that they weren't alone. “Oh, we have company.”

“Don't mind us, continue please.” Cheryl whined.

“Yeah right.” Penny scoffed while Leonard smirked next to her.

“Come on, we'll be quiet.” Kim said.

“Really?” Leonard threw in. “I'd have thought you would get rather vocal once you two joined us in our fun.”

“Leonard!” Penny yelled shocked while the jaws of her friends hit the floor.

“Relax, I'm kidding.” Leonard laughed and gave her a kiss on her still open-in-shock lips. “I'll be back in forty-five minutes to pick you up.”

“He enjoys taunting us way too much.” Cheryl said after he had left.

“Yeah. I think I'll need to have a talk with him about that.” Penny replied.

“Did you tell him that you love him yet?”

“No. I almost did it while we were at the hotel but we were too busy having sex all the time.”

“Keep rubbing it in.” Kim murmured.

“Let me ask you something. Are you afraid that he won't say it back or that he will?” Cheryl asked, making Penny quiet.

“No, the first one.”

“Are you sure?”

“Stop causing me to doubt.” Penny threatened. “It's not funny.”

“Then what's stopping you?”

“I don't know.” Penny sighed. “But I will do it. If I can't do it before, I will do it at our one-year anniversary, although it's still a few months away.”

“Good to have a plan.” Cheryl said and stood up. “Well, we're leaving, you need to change into that.” she continued, pointing at the bag with the camouflage gear.

“See ya, girls.” Penny hugged her friends and they left her apartment. She grabbed the bag and went into her bedroom to change. A few minutes later, Leonard knocked at her door and they left for the paintball range with a sulking Sheldon in the backseat.

* * *

After the short drive to the range, they met with Howard, Raj and Leslie who were waiting in the corner of the entrance area. Penny saw several more groups running around, paintball guns in hand and excitedly talking and taunting each other.

“What's the plan?” she asked the group.

“Once the game starts, we'll head to the shed in the middle of the area and take a look around. Then we can plan a more detailed strategy.” Leonard said and the entire group went to the starting points.

As soon as the bell announced the start of the round, the group started running towards the center of the field. Other groups were heading in a similar direction on parallel paths and took potshots at them. When they reached a clearing and saw the Geology department run at the other end, Penny lifted her gun and quickly let loose three shots, each hitting one member of the other group.

The others could only stare in astonishment at her marksmanship after she had taken out three opponents with as many shots while running. They reached the big shed without further delays and quickly headed inside and formed a circle.

“Okay, first of all, Penny, thank you for coming.” Leonard spoke up.

“Thanks for the shoes.” she replied truthfully. She had tried them on before changing into the camouflage gear and they really looked amazing. She'd have to remember to wear them again tonight with nothing else on and snap a picture for herself and Leonard.

“As you have witnessed a minute ago, Penny is an amazing shot. I think we have a real chance to win this week.”

“What’s the plan?” Howard asked.

“Okay. Now, we all run out.” Leonard started. “Sheldon and I will cut to the left behind these trees. Raj, Howard and Leslie flank to the right behind the rocks. Then we’ll all have a great view as Penny runs out and kills everyone else in sight.”

“Right, just one thing before we start.” Sheldon interrupted and lifted his gun.

“What is it, Sheldon?”Leonard asked.

Penny saw the barrel of Sheldon's gun aimed at her and his finger depress on the trigger as if in slow motion. The ball exited the barrel with a cough but before she could feel the impact, Leonard's hand shot out and caught it in midair with a wince as the ball hit his hand.

“What the hell, Sheldon?” Penny asked as Leonard placed himself in front of her to block Sheldon's line of fire.

“That was supposed to be for my cushion. But Leonard ruined it.”

“Sheldon, Penny is our only hope. You on the other hand are expendable.” Leonard said and lifted his own gun.

“I’m sorry, Leonard. But you can't shoot me with a wound in your hand.”

“You're right, I can’t.” Leonard agreed and took his gun into his left hand, quickly shooting Sheldon twice, hitting his protective glasses with both shots and thus blocking his vision.

“Hey! That was uncalled for.” Sheldon protested.

“No, that was called for. But remember, even if you survived the shots into your eyes, you're blind now and can't shoot us.” Leonard explained and mentioned the others to leave the shed with his hands.

“I can still blindly shoot around me.”

“Yeah, but we're out the door so have fun.” Leonard said and quickly exited the shed, leaving Sheldon alone in there.

They followed the plan Leonard made earlier although he was alone on the left flank since Sheldon was still back in the shed. He climbed into one of the high stands that hid him from prying eyes but still gave him good opportunity to watch his girlfriend in action.

She was a sight to behold. Not just in the physical sense although that was quite the view on its own with the tight camouflage pants hugging her curves, and the plastic shielding hiding what he knew were very well formed breasts.

He watched as Penny ran around and placed well-aimed shots into their opponents. One group after another was painted with green splotches on their gear, indicating a fatal hit and they dropped out of the game. It took her less than thirty minutes to eviscerate the opposition who walked with hands up towards the exit.

Leonard looked around and tried to find her between the trees, having lost her in the chaos of the last few minutes. Suddenly the trap door snapped open and revealed his grinning girlfriend who aimed her paintball gun at him. But before she could pull the trigger, she seemed to realize who was sitting there and lifted the barrel upwards.

“I surrender.” Leonard grinned and lifted his hands.

“Good. Then I can tell you what to do.” she smiled back and got into his hiding place proper, shutting the trapdoor and sitting down on it.

“And what should I do?”

“Get naked and pleasure me?” she winked and wiggled her eyebrows.

“Not here.” he said resolutely, stopping her from taking off her chest guard.

“Why not?”

“I wouldn't get naked in her even with a blanket, way too dirty.”

“You're no fun.”

“We can have sex at home.” he suggested. “You could wear those heels.”

“I accept your alternative.” she smiled and kissed him but before she could deepen it, they heard Sheldon calling out for them.

“We better get down there before he calls the police.” Leonard said and opened the trapdoor Penny had vacated.

They climbed down and rejoined their friends, with everyone but Sheldon congratulating Penny for her skills with the gun. Laughing, they walked towards their cars and after getting in, drove to Denny's for their first victory celebration since starting their contests against the other departments.

For Penny, this celebration couldn't end fast enough because she wanted to get home to get Leonard into her bed for her own form of celebrating this victory. And thanks to her way too sweet boyfriend, she had the perfect heels to wear for that.

* * *

**And done. I liked my version of the paintball game better than the shows ^^ Also, we are getting closer to the ILY :D**

**Side note: I have no idea if the grant procedure works like that but hey, it's my story and it sounded logic to me :)**

**Review please :)**


	28. Chapter 28

**I'm back with another chapter :)**

**For all of you out there who look forward to the ILY, look at the chapter number. A round number is coming up, you know what that usually means ^^**

**Enjoy :)**

**** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going. ** **

* * *

Penny was bored. There was no going around it. Since Leonard and his friends were on that train trip to San Francisco, she had no idea what to do with herself. This situation was once again the perfect example what an overwhelming influence Leonard had become in her life, only a few days away and she had no idea what to do.

Usually she knew what to do. But before meeting Leonard that involved mostly going to clubs, meeting a guy and taking him home for a hot night but right now that was the last thing she wanted to do. Not so much the clubbing but the thought of someone else than Leonard touching her made her skin crawl after he had pretty much ruined her for other men.

At least she had regular voice contact with him via phone and it was more fun than the one she had during the first day on their train trip to San Francisco when she had managed to infuriate Sheldon by reading the letters his grandmother had written him and she had made a mental note about how easy it was to freak Sheldon out just by calling him Moon Pie.

The rest of the phone calls were made only when Leonard was alone and it went usually in one direction. She also had fun snapping pictures of herself and sending them to him and she got him into some hot water when she made a video pleasuring herself and moaning loudly as she brought herself to orgasm just with her hand.

What she hadn't known was that at that time Leonard had been in the middle of a large room full of people listening to someone speak from a podium when he had absentmindedly clicked on the video. The loud moan had been, according to him, heard across the entire room and he had to quickly excuse himself since other people thought he was watching porn. It had given her a good laugh when he told her that story.

At least she had found one small thing to do in her spare time. Going off an idea she stole from a movie, she had bought some stuff and made herself a flower barrette to clip into her hair. It might be something for little girls but she thought she looked cute on her. And today, she had put it on before going to work.

“Hey Penny, that flower in your hair looks so cute.” Linda said, one of the other waitresses.

“Thanks, I made it myself.” she grinned back.

“That's so cool, can you make me one too?”

“Sure. Just give me three bucks and I'll make you one.” Penny said.

“Three dollars?”

“Yeah. Covers the material costs and a few cents for my work.”

“Sure, then okay.” Linda agreed.

When Penny's shift ended, she had gotten orders from almost all the other waitresses for one or more blossoms, so she decided to stop at a shop in Old Town where homemade jewelry was sold. Penny knew that she'd also get the parts she needed for more Penny blossoms.

“Hello.” she greeted the old woman behind the counter.

“Hello, my dear.” came the reply. “How may I help you?”

“I need some plastic flower petals and about three dozen rhinestones.”

“Coming right up. Would you by any chance be making more of what you have in your hair?”

“Yes, why?”

“Interesting. I would buy some to sell them in my store if you're interested.”

“That's a great idea. I charge three dollars for each to cover material and work.”

“That's fair. I'd take forty, if you can make them.”

“Certainly. Is end of the week okay? I do have another job.”

“Of course. See you then.” the woman dismissed her and Penny left the store with the material.

She of course had bought some two hundred petals, since they were relatively cheap but she had just enough money with her to buy the rhinestones she needed. Come to think of it, ordering them over the internet would be cheaper since it would be a bulk purchase. After arriving home, the first thing she did was grabbing her phone to text Leonard.

**Hey sweetie. Are you already on your way back?**

**No, we won't be home for another two days :(**

**What? Why?**

**There are a few events after the symposium and Sheldon really wanted to go. So, much like the train ride, we're going -.-**

**Why do you keep letting him dictate how you do things?**

**Because it's easier than arguing with him. It wasn't all bad, we met Summer Glau on the train**

**Summer Glau? The actress?** Penny wrote shocked.

**The very same. She was very nice and posed for pictures with each of us. Want me to send them to you?**

**Yes please!**

Penny's phone chirped with several incoming messages, pictures attached to every one of them. She saw the truth in his claim when she clicked through the pictures of Summer Glau with each of the guys. Summer's facial expression differed in every picture and Penny felt her gut churn again.

**How come Summer is looking so mad in the picture with Howard?**

**He pissed her off during the train ride after Raj lost his ability to speak once he realized that he was drinking non-alcoholic beer**

**Okay. And why is she smiling so brightly in the picture with you?** Penny wrote with some trepidation. Not just the smiling, but he was the only one Summer had put her arm around. Imagining an accomplished and beautiful actress interested in Leonard, her Leonard!, was something Penny wouldn't be able to deal with.

**I treated her like a person, not someone to put on a pedestal. I reckon she liked that**

**Will you see her again?** Penny asked him and mentally slapped herself for being like that.

**If she's riding in the same train we do and in the same carriage I imagine saying hello to her, as long as Howard doesn't piss her off again. Otherwise I will probably never see her again unless it's on TV :)**

**Okay, good ;)**

**Penny, are you jealous?**

**Yes! And lose that smile!**

**How do you know I'm smiling?**

**I know you!**

**Penny?**

**Yeah?**

**I miss you**

**I miss you too :-x**

**I want to sleep with you in my arms**

**And I want to sleep in your arms**

**Two more days, then I'll come home**

**Okay, see you then :-x**

Penny put down the phone and headed into her bedroom to undress and then to the bathroom to take a shower. As she stood under the spray of water, she let the last few messages go through her head again and was marveled at how great it had sounded when he said he'll come home. Once again, she thought of him coming through the door of their apartment where they lived together.

One day. One day it will be like that. But first she had to tell him that she loved him. She had decided before his trip, during their stay in that hotel, that she'd do it at their one-year anniversary. She had no idea what they would do that day or if Leonard had some plans already, but knowing him he did already, but no matter if they only went out to dinner and a club or something more fancy, she would tell him that she loved him, hoping that he'd say it back before they'd make the most passionate love she could imagine.

* * *

Penny woke up on late Saturday morning after sleeping in. She originally had planned to have sex all night with a returning Leonard but after waiting until two in the morning, she got a message from him that his train had been delayed and went to bed, frustrated beyond believe.

At least she had managed to make the Penny blossoms her colleagues and the shop owner had ordered. And after she had delivered them, she had been happy to find out that she had earned a whopping hundred and fifty-six dollars for two days work. That was more than she earned at the Cheesecake Factory, although she had worked almost constantly, which had helped her take her mind of her missing boyfriend.

She got up, took a shower and got dressed in her flowery sweatpants and a yellow top with spaghetti straps with a yellow see-through overshirt. She went into the kitchen and brewed herself some coffee, looking around the mess that was her living room. She sighed at the thought of cleaning but when Leonard was gone for several days, she tended to let things slide. In the second the clock struck eleven, she heard the familiar knocking combination that indicated Sheldon standing in the hall, waiting for her to open.

“Hey, Sheldon.” she greeted him after opening the door and the lanky physicist immediately held his hand over his throat.

“It’s eleven am.” he explains.

“I know. You’re safe.” she assured him, remembering her threat to him when it came to knocking on weekends.

“This package came for you this morning but you were most likely in an alcohol-induced coma.” he said and handed her the box she had been waiting for.

“Oh, great, my rhinestones. Thank you.” she said and grabbed the package. “And by the way, I wasn't drinking last night.”

“Excuse me.”

“Apology accepted.”

“No, you have to sign this.” he said and held a clipboard with a paper out for her.

“What is it?”

“When I signed for the package, I was deputized by the United Parcel Service and entrusted with its final delivery. I now need you to acknowledge receipt of the package so that I’m fully indemnified and no longer liable.”

“Sheldon, it’s just a box of rhinestones.”

“Well, the contents are irrelevant. A legal bailment has been created. Does that mean nothing to you?”

“It means nothing to anybody. Come here, let me show you what I’m doing.”

“Bailment describes a relationship in common law where a physical possession of personal property, or chattels, is transferred from one person, the bailor, to another person, the bailee.”

“Yeah, yeah. Look! I started a business.”

“Obviously, not a cleaning business.” Sheldon remarked, looking around her messy apartment.

“No, I’m making flower barrettes. See? I call them Penny Blossoms. I made one for myself, then all the girls at work wanted one. Then I showed some to this lady who runs a shop in Old Town. She sells cards and homemade jewelry. She said she wanted to sell them. I said okay, and in two days, I made a hundred and fifty-six dollars.”

“Good for you. Sign here.” he congratulated and held the clipboard and pen out again.

“Sheldon, don’t you get it? If this takes off, I won’t have to be a waitress anymore.”

“But then who will bring me my cheeseburger on Tuesday nights?” he inquired, his voice going into the whining category again.

“Another waitress.” she replied.

“What’s her name? And you’re going to let her handle my food?”

“Does it matter? Have you any idea how many people handle your food before I bring it to you?

“I think you’re just making that up.”

“Sheldon, I just don’t want to be a waitress for the rest of my life.” she sighed. “So, what do you think? I mean, this could be a business, right?”

“How many of these can you make a day?” Sheldon asked her, turning one of the barrettes in his hand.

“About twenty.” she replied proudly.

“And how much profit do you make per Penny Blossom?”

“I don’t know, like, 50 cents. I’m not sure.”

“No, of course you’re not. All right, ten dollars a day times five days a week times fifty-two weeks a year is two thousand six hundred dollars.” he said, doing a quick math in his head.

“That’s all?” she asked, shocked. She really thought it would be more.

“If you took advantage of modern marketing techniques, and you optimized your manufacturing process, you might be able to make this a viable business.”

“And you know about that stuff?”

“Penny.” he said, looking down at her with that I-know-better-than-you look. “I’m a physicist. I have a working knowledge of the entire universe and everything it contains.”

“Who’s Radiohead?” Penny asked and, with some satisfaction, saw his face starting to twitch.

“I have a working knowledge of the important things in the universe. Good luck.” he said and turned to leave.

“Sheldon, hold on. Will you show me how to make more money with this?”

“Just to be clear here, you’re asking for my assistance.”

“Yes.” she agreed.

“And you understand that will involve me telling you what to do?” he inquired further.

“I understand.” she replied, knowing that this will probably end badly.

“Good. Let’s begin with the premise that everything you’ve done up to this point is wrong.”

“Oh, imagine that.”

“Another rule. You can't use sarcasm.” Sheldon ordered.

_'Great. Now he begins to understand sarcasm.'_ “Fine.”

“The first thing we should do is find out how long it takes you to make one of these. You start and I'll time you. Go!”

Penny grabbed the petals and the hot glue gun and started to glue them together to create the flower and with that the base for the rhinestones. She blew air against the glue to fasten its cooling before putting on another layer of glue and attaching the rhinestones.

“There. Done.” she said proudly and he clicked the watch.

“All right. 12 minutes and 17 seconds.” he proclaimed.

“Pretty good, right?” she said. It was pretty good for her.

“That’s four point nine Penny Blossoms per hour. Based on your cost of materials and your wholesale selling price, you’ll effectively be paying yourself… five dollars and nineteen cents a day.”

“A day?” she asked him, not quite believing the result.

“There are children in a sneaker factory in Indonesia who out-earn you.” he commented offhandedly.

“That just can’t be right.” she muttered to herself but he took it as a criticism to himself. Luckily she was able to stop him from going into a diatribe.

“Just please tell me what to do about it.”

“All right, are you familiar with the development that resulted from Honoré Blanc’s 1778 use of interchangeable parts?” he asked her and she only looked at him confused. “The assembly line, of course.”

“How are we supposed to set up machines and conveyor belts in my apartment?”

“You’re thinking of the moving assembly line, an understandable but not excusable mistake. No. The moving assembly line, that was introduced by Henry Ford in 1908. That innovation is what made possible our modern consumer culture by enabling a low-unit cost for manufactured goods. I guess that isn’t one of the topics discussed on your Radiohead.”

“This class is boring.” she groaned and put her hands on her ears.

“If you want my help, you need to be educated.”

“Sheldon, all I want to know is how to optimize the process so I can make more of these blossoms in a day.”

“Fine. Are you familiar with the concept of the drumbeat work?”

“What?”

“Back in ancient times when men crossed the Mediterranean sea, they used galleys like biremes and triremes, which means they were rowboats with two or three levels for the oarsmen to sit and work. And to facilitate that their rowing was done at the same time, they used drummers to provide a beat, since the oarsmen in the upper row didn't see the ones below them and so on.”

“So, you want to beat a drum to make me work faster?”

“Don't be silly, I don't have time to beat something just so you can work. Although an automatic drum or a metronome would be a good idea.” he mused. “No, in this case, I propose using the old pirate tricks for rowing. You see, pirates and other sailors usually sang shanties and their beat provided them with a basis for their rowing, if they had to do it.”

“You want us to sing?”

“Yes. Lets try Good Morning Ladies All first.” he suggested and started singing. Unfortunately Penny didn't know the lyrics and while Sheldon sang, she tried to work in beat of the song. “Okay, this isn't working good, the beat is too slow.”

“Wanna try Blow the man down? I know the lyrics to that one.” Penny suggested.

“Very well. I will time us.”

They started singing and Penny started working, Sheldon doing the same. She made a blossom in eight minutes and a second in six minutes, grudgingly acknowledging that Sheldon's idea had merit. They kept singing and making more barrettes in less and less time until suddenly her apartment door opened and her boyfriend and the others from the group entered.

“Hello?” Leonard asked to which they replied the same in unison. “What’s going on?”

“I assume you’re referring to the sea shanty. It’s a rhythmic work song designed to increase productivity.” Sheldon explained.

“Yeah, it’s crazy, but it totally works. Look, we made this Penny Blossom in under three minutes.” she proudly showed him.

“Terrific, but that kind of raises more questions than it answers.” Leonard countered.

“Penny’s making hair accessories. I’m helping her optimize her manufacturing process.” Sheldon explained to Leonard before turning back to Penny. “All right, break’s over.”

“Hold on.” Howard interrupted. “What are you using as a bonding agent?”

“Hot glue.” Sheldon replied.

“You’re kidding. Any of the Cyanoacrylates would do a better job.”

“It won’t work, the flower’s too porous.”

“What if we infused the bottom layer with silicone-RTV to provide a better mounting surface?” Leonard threw in as Raj whispered something into Howard's ear.

“Good question, what are you marketing and distribution channels?” he relayed.

“Well, there are the waitresses at my work, and this cute, little shop in Old Town.”

“Hush, hush.” Sheldon stopped her. “Virtually non-existent. I’m thinking that we set her up with a hosted turnkey e-commerce system to start.”

“Why not eliminate the middle man? We could install a small server farm with a static IP in her bedroom.” Howard suggested and Penny had again no idea what he was talking about.

“She’d need some kind of industrial cooling system.” Leonard interjected.

“Of course, but before we set up a marketing and distribution infrastructure, we should finish optimizing the manufacturing process. To start with, she has a terrible problem with moisture-induced glitter clump.” Sheldon said.

“Yeah, it’s a bitch.” Penny added, just to be a part of the conversation.

“Uh, I’ve seen this before.” Howard started. “It’s a common stripper problem. They dance, they sweat, they clump.”

“Are you thinking about adding a desiccant like calcium sulfate?”

“Actually, I’m thinking about this one stripper named Vega. But sure, calcium sulfate could work.”

“Let’s think out of the box for a moment. How about a molecular sieve?” Sheldon suggested and the appreciative Ohs from the guys told her that his suggestion had some kind of merit.

“I’ve got a spaghetti strainer in the kitchen.” she told them, getting a look from all of them.

“Hey, we could liberate some micro-porous charcoal from the chem lab.” Leonard pointed out.

“Oh, great.” Sheldon agreed. “Raj, why don’t you and Howard go get the charcoal? Leonard, why don’t you start working on some preliminary website designs. I’ll make some space in our apartment so we can move the manufacturing process.”

“Hey, what’s wrong with my apartment?” Penny asked, feeling left out already.

“It’s not my apartment.” Sheldon replied dryly and turned to leave.

“Wait, what am I going to do?”

“Hey, it’s your business. Do whatever you want.” Leonard said and left with the others, eager to begin working, leaving her standing alone in her apartment.

“Oh, okay, cool. I’m going to take a nap.” she said to herself and headed into her bedroom.

* * *

Her nap was ended when a hand with very soft skin gently shook her awake. Penny opened her eyes and looked into the smiling face of her boyfriend, a smile she couldn't help but return.

“Hey.” she said softly, leaning into his touch.

“Hey yourself. I wanted to let you know that I'm done with some preliminary website designs. I already launched it online in case someone looks for flower barrettes, we can still tweak it if it becomes necessary later.”

“Are the others back yet?” she asked him, getting slowly awake and turning to her side, bringing her face directly in front of his crotch.

“No, why?”

Instead of answering, Penny's right arm shot forward, quickly opening the zipper of his pants and the buttons of his easy access shorts to whip out his manhood. A few strokes were enough to make it harden rapidly, his girth growing between her fingers and making her moist between her legs.

“Boy, I have missed that thing inside me.” she said and kissed the tip. But as she opened her mouth and put her head forward to take him into her mouth, a familiar knocking combination announced the arrival of Leonard's roommate.

“And of course, CBS has to return right now.” Leonard sighed and stepped back, trying to calm himself to get his cock back into his pants.

“CBS?” Penny asked as she got up.

“Cock Blocker Sheldon.” Leonard deadpanned and walked out into her living room.

She laughed hard as she followed him and opened the door to a confused Sheldon who saw her almost in tears from the laughter, which became even harder when she laid her eyes on him.

“I see you're in a good mood.” Sheldon said. “Is Leonard here? We are back with the materials.”

“I'm here Sheldon. I just woke Penny after putting the page online.”

“You already launched it? Without showing it to me beforehand?” Sheldon asked.

“You? What about me?” Penny asked. “I'm the one selling that stuff.”

“Of course Penny.” Sheldon said reassuringly, although Penny couldn't decide if he was genuine or condescending.

“Lets go, I'll show you.” Leonard said and led them into the other apartment where Howard and Raj were standing in front of his desk. Leonard sat down and Sheldon stepped behind him, forcing Penny to stand to the right of Leonard.

“So, show us.” Sheldon ordered.

“I’m still tweaking things a little bit, but this will give you the general idea of the website.” he explained and switched his browser to the site. “So, what do you guys think?”

Penny didn't know what to say when she saw the site. She loved that man but what he put online looked like something a child would draw to hang on the fridge of the parents who would only put it up there to placate the kid.

“Uh, pretty much any way I say that is going to hurt his feelings.” Howard said after Raj whispered something into his ear.

“Okay, what’s wrong with it?” Leonard asked.

“What’s wrong with it?” Sheldon repeated.

“Not you. I wasn’t asking you. Penny?” Leonard clarified.

“Uh, well, it’s a little... juvenile.” Yeah, that was the best word she could choose. “I mean, it kind of looks like the MySpace page of a thirteen-year-old girl.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Leonard countered.

“Please. Dateline could use it to attract predators.” Howard threw in.

“Penny, this is your enterprise, so it’s ultimately your decision, but based on the quality of his work, I’d strongly recommend that we let Leonard go.” Sheldon said.

“You want to fire me?” Leonard inquired.

“What I want is irrelevant. This is Penny’s decision.” Sheldon answered. “Penny?”

“Are you crazy Sheldon? I'm not firing Leonard. I'd rather fire you.” she almost shouted.

“Excuse me, but if I did such a bad job then why do we already have orders?” Leonard said smugly. “Look. Mrs. Fiona Fondell from Huntsville, Alabama has ordered two.”

“No kidding. Two?” Penny looked excited at the screen and saw a comment below the order. “Thank you, Penny Blossoms. These will be perfect to cover my bald spot. Aw, that is so sweet.”

“Camouflaging bald spots. That’s primarily a male concern. Perhaps we could expand our market.” Sheldon suggested.

“How are flower barrettes going to appeal to men?” Penny asked, trying not to laugh at the image in her head of the guys wearing flowers in their hair.

“We add Bluetooth!” Howard said excitedly.

“Brilliant. Men love Bluetooth.” Sheldon agreed.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute, you want to make a hair barrette with Bluetooth?” Penny asked.

“Penny, everything is better with Bluetooth.” Sheldon explained, completely serious.

“Holy crap. Someone just ordered a thousand Penny Blossoms.” Leonard piped up.

“Get out!” Penny said shocked, looking at the screen. “Who needs a thousand sparkly flower barrettes with rhinestones?”

“The Fifth Annual East Rutherford, New Jersey, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Alliance Luau.” came Leonard's answer.

“Oh, another market to expand into, balding gay men.” Sheldon said.

“And I’ll bet lesbians love Bluetooth.” Howard added.

“We should get to work.” Sheldon said and moved away towards the couch.

“Wait, why does it say one-day rush? Since when do we offer a one-day rush?” Penny asked when she saw that option.

“Amazon offers one-day rush.” Leonard offered as explanation.

“Yeah, but they don’t have to glue the books together. How the hell are we going to make a thousand Penny Blossoms in one day?”

“Don’t yell at me. I’m not manufacturing. I’m just web design.”

“Okay, well, I’m gonna have to call them and cancel the order.” Penny said.

“Excuse me, but was this not your goal? Financial independence through entrepreneurial brilliance and innovation? My brilliance and innovation, of course, but still.” Sheldon interjected.

“I just don’t see how see can pull this off.”

“Penny, your gross receipts on this one order will be over three thousand dollars for one night’s work.” Sheldon said pointedly.

“You guys get started.” she ordered.

“What are you doing?” Leonard asked as she sat down at his laptop.

“Going online to buy shoes!” she answered excitedly and started to browse through the list on the site she had found the shoes on she had wanted to buy the last time her own laptop froze.

“One pair.” Leonard said into her ear.

“What? Why one pair when I'm earning three grand?”

“Because one, you have a lot of shoes already and two, while we are willing to help you with this order, since it's partially my fault, we're not working through the night just so you can blow all your earnings on shoes. Save some for later.”

“But...”

“We're having an anniversary coming up in a few weeks.” he whispered into her ear and went to his armchair.

With a curse, she closed the site and moved to the couch as well. Shoe orders could wait and while it was close, she loved Leonard more than her shoes. She grabbed some flower petals and a bowl of rhinestones and started working, using the stuff Howard had recommended instead of hot glue. If he had simply said that these cyanoacrylates were simply different forms of super glue, she wouldn't have been so confused.

* * *

After four hours of constant work, she and Sheldon were sitting on the couch, singing another song to keep the beat and put together one barrette after another. The other three guys were taking a break, standing in the kitchen with coffee cups in hand and talking in hushed tones with each other.

“I believe I’m hearing some negativity on the factory floor.” Sheldon said to her in an equally low tone.

“So?” she asked.

“Penny, the labor force is a living organism that must be carefully nurtured. Any counterproductive grumbling must be skilfully headed off by management. Observe.” she said and turned to the guys. “Hey! Less talk, more work!” he shouted, making the guys look at him.

“Nicely done.” Penny admitted.

“Thank you. You hear any union talk, you let me know.”

After a few more minutes, the other guys came back and continued to work. Going with the example that her and Sheldon set, they started singing along with them, working in the beat of the songs. They produced one flower barrette after another, putting each into separate bags and noting the amount on their clipboards.

“How many have we made now?” Penny asked, looking out the window and seeing the darkness outside.

“Six hundred and twenty.” Leonard said from the kitchen where he, Raj and Howard were bagging more barrettes to prevent any from getting damaged.

She and the guys except Sheldon had been drinking cups of coffee in an almost dangerous amount, trying to stay awake and concentrated enough to continue to make the barrettes. At least they were already past half of the needed amount.

She saw the guys almost falling asleep were they stood and she herself didn't feel much better. Sheldon on the other hand was sleeping in his spot, his head on the armrest next to him and soundly napping. As much as she would like to let him sleep, because he wasn't talking then, they'd need his help to finish the order.

“Sheldon? Sheldon, wake up!” _she said loudly and slapped his leg, making him wake and sit up. She had to laugh when he pulled a barrette from his face that had stuck itself there. “_ Honey, do you want some coffee?” she offered him.

“No, I don’t drink coffee.”

“Come on, but if you don’t stay awake we’ll never finish in time.” she argued.

“I’m sorry, coffee’s out of the question. When I moved to California, I promised my mother that I wouldn’t start doing drugs.” Sheldon replied and got up.

“Leonard, help.” she whined.

“Sheldon, we still have three hundred and eighty of these things to make.” Leonard threw in.

“I have complete faith that you will make them. Good night.” Sheldon said and moved towards his bedroom.

“But Sheldon, without your insight and leadership this entire enterprise will surely fail.” Leonard added sarcastically.

“You’re right, of course.” Sheldon took his remark at face value and moved back to the couch.

“Here, this will help.” Penny said and handed him a cup of coffee.

“Very well, but if this leads to opiates or hallucinogenics, you’re going to have to answer to my mother.” Sheldon told her and took a deep gulp.

They kept working for another hour, with Sheldon drinking an entire can of coffee in that time. While he was rapidly producing the flower barrettes, he was getting more and more agitated, the fact that he never had caffeine in his life before becoming very apparent.

After his second can, he couldn't sit on the couch anymore. He grabbed the cup he was nursing currently and started walking around the apartment, constantly muttering to himself about something she didn't understand. Suddenly he almost appeared next to Leonard, cup in hand and crazy look in his eyes.

“Look at Planck’s Constant.” he started. “People say it’s arbitrary. It could not be less arbitrary. If it varied even slightly, life as we know it would not exist. Bam! Now, now, let’s reconsider the entire argument, but with entropy reversed and effect preceding cause, so you are thinking of a universe that’s not expanding from the centre, no, it is retreating from a, from a possibility space. Bam! This is a space where we are all essentially Alice through the looking glass, standing in front the Red Queen, and we’re being offered a cracker to quench our thirst. Bam!” he shouted and walked in front of them, still muttering to himself. “Of course, in another universe, let’s call it universe prime, there’s another Sheldon, let’s call him Sheldon prime…”

“We should have let him go to bed.” she whispered to Leonard, who was sitting next to her. She was inclined to put her head on his shoulder for a second but she knew that she'd probably fall asleep as soon as her head was something other than vertical.

“Bam.” Leonard muttered and threw the blossom he was currently bagging on the table.

At some point, Sheldon came back to the table, their last can of coffee with him. He again started to furiously attack the parts for the flower barrettes, putting them together in motions almost automatic while his face contorted in something resembling complete overload.

Penny did her part, making more flower barrettes, as did Leonard and the other two but she could see that they were at the end of their endurance. Except Sheldon, who continued to make one blossom after another as if his life depended on it. His urgency reminded Penny of the times she rode Leonard with the same force and was painfully aware of the fact that they hadn't had sex for over a week, since Leonard was at that symposium before they started with these barrettes.

Suddenly Sheldon jumped up after finishing the current blossom he had been working on and ran into the bathroom. Considering the amount of coffee he had consumed, she wasn't surprised. And since they should be almost done with the order, she wasn't even mad that Sheldon went directly into his bedroom instead of coming back.

“I can’t believe we actually did it.” Leonard groaned after bagging the barrette he had been working on.

“One thousand friggin’ Penny Blossoms.” Howard concurred and threw his last into the carton on the table.

“I just want you guys to know I am really grateful for your help, and for every dollar I make, I’m going to give you 20 cents.” Penny offered.

“That’s your entire profit margin.” Howard told her.

“Oh. Then never mind.” she quickly said.

“I’ll print out the shipping label.” Leonard said and hauled his exhausted body to his desk. “Uh-oh.” he said as he looked at the screen.

“What?” Penny asked. “Did they cancel the order suddenly? That would really suck after we put so much work into it.”

“We got an e-mail from the East Rutherford, New Jersey, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Alliance.” Leonard told her, making her heart sink at his voice. “They want another thousand Penny Blossoms.”

“Really?” she asked. That was much better than the alternative.

“One-day rush. I really need to take that off the website.” Leonard said and walked away from his laptop.

“Okay, well. Guess we’d better get started.” Penny said and looked for more petals and rhinestones.

“You can’t be serious.” Howard stopped her.

“Come on. What about the living organism of the workforce and the American spirit?”

“Even the greatest spirit needs to rest, otherwise the living organism dies.” Leonard muttered and put his head into his hand.

“I know that, okay? I’m tired, I’ve had like 18 cups of coffee. The point is, if we all just pull together, we can do this. Who’s with me?” she asked but saw no enthusiasm, not even from the man she loved.

“Penny, although you may find it hard to believe, we do have lives.” Howard said, got up and walked out, Raj quickly following him, leaving her alone with Leonard.

“Leonard?” she asked hopefully.

“Sorry. My apologies to the gay community of East Rutherford, New Jersey.” he replied and walked towards his bedroom, leaving her alone. Frustrated and more than tired, she let her head fall back on to the back of the armchair and closed her eyes.

“Zoom, zoom, zoom!” Sheldon loud voice ripped her from her almost sleep. She looked at him and saw him standing close to the kitchen table, dressed as the Flash. “Where’s the coffee?”

“We’re all out.” she replied.

“No problem. I’ll be back before this banana hits the ground.” he said and let the banana drop before running out the door as fast as his legs could carry him, shouting zoom zoom as he ran.

She got up and went towards the door to return to her own apartment when she realized that she was alone in the apartment with Leonard since Sheldon had run out the door. Smiling, she turned around and headed towards his bedroom.

She quietly opened the door and tiptoed into the room, seeing her sweetie lying on his bed, one arm under the blanket and the other over his head, his face illuminated by the dawn light coming through the uncovered window. He was snoring lightly and Penny thought it was the most adorable sound she ever heard but that might just be the tiredness talking.

“I love you so much.” she whispered. “I just hope I will have the courage to tell you when we celebrate our anniversary because you surely have already planned something.”

She walked around the bed and got into it next to him, putting her head on his chest and her arm around his waist. His arm that was over his head automatically came down to wrap itself around her and pull her tighter to him and Penny enjoyed this subconscious display of affection immensely.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Leonard mumbled.

“Shh. Go back to sleep. I didn't want to head over to my lonely apartment. Is it okay if I sleep here?”

“Of course.” he replied and closed his eyes again.

“Leonard? You know what in three weeks is?”

“Yeah. Our anniversary.” he said without missing a beat.

“Do you have something planned?”

“Of course.”

“Will you tell me?”

“No, it's a surprise. But it would be great if you can take the weekend off. Friday to Sunday.”

“Oh, I will. Believe me. Where are we going?”

“Nice try.”

“Come on, give me a hint.”

“Pack a bag and don't forget your bikini.” he said and settled back into his cushion but before they could fall asleep, his door burst open and Sheldon, still in his Flash costume, barged in.

“I got the coffee.” he shouted and dropped two bags of coffee onto the floor.

“Great Sheldon.” Leonard said tired. “Now go to bed.”

“No. We can't go to bed now.” he said and looked directly at them as if seeing what was in front of him for the first time. “Why are you two in bed together?”

“I was too tired to go to my place.” Penny replied. “And if I had got into yours, you would have blown a gasket.”

“That's true. Now come on, more coffee!” he shouted and ran out of the room, shouting his zoom sounds as he ran.

“When he crashes, it will be ugly.” Penny said, and only a few seconds later, they heard a loud bump.

“What now?” Leonard asked and fought himself upright, Penny following him.

“I think he just crashed.” Penny said and they went into the hallway.

They found Sheldon lying in the doorway to his bedroom, his legs moving as if his body tried to keep walking. Penny had to grin at Leonard's crazy roommate, seeing him in the throes of a mild caffeine shock since his body wasn't used to it and got a very strong dose of it.

“Leonard, I have fallen and can't get up.”

“Come on buddy, lets get you to bed.” Leonard said and with Penny's help managed to get Sheldon upright and into his room proper.

“But I'm not tired.” Sheldon protested.

“Says the man who just collapsed to the floor.” Penny threw in.

“Okay, but I'm not tired enough to go to sleep.”

“Just get into bed and close your eyes until you fall asleep. Use your sleeping mask.” Leonard said and handed Sheldon the mask from the nightstand, putting it on Sheldon's face after removing the Flash mask. “Believe me, you will need the sleep.”

While Leonard got Sheldon to bed, Penny went into the kitchen and got two bottles of water out of the fridge to put on Sheldon's nightstand for when he would wake up. She knew from experience how it would feel after getting an overdose of caffeine.

_'Damn, will it be like that when Leonard and I put our kids to bed?'_ she wondered in her head and almost dropped the bottles when she realized what she had just thought. She had decided a while ago that she would bear Leonard's children one day but when these thoughts came, it still was a shock to her at how easy she could imagine them as a family.

She turned the corner into the hallway to the bedrooms and handed Leonard the water bottles, who put them on the table next to Sheldon's bed. He closed the door and they waited for a few seconds to listen to any sounds. As if he had known, Sheldon started to moan, sing and talk in his attempt to sleep.

“My place?” Penny suggested.

“Yes please. Let me grab my night clothes and robe.” he replied and went back into his room, grabbing his shorts, shirt and robe before heading back out and following Penny into her apartment.

“Get comfortable.” Penny said and took him into her bedroom and went into the bathroom, leaving him in the other one.

She didn't bother to close the door and went to her sink, using her cotton wipes to remove the make-up from her face. She watched in her mirror as Leonard undressed and changed into his sleeping attire, the sight of his naked ass making heat pool between her legs. Unfortunately, he pulled his sleeping shorts on way too soon for her liking.

He came into the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush, an action she mirrored after throwing away the make-up wipes. She had to smile at this display of domesticity and at the sheer ridiculousness of the fact that brushing your teeth with her boyfriend made her so happy.

“What are you smiling at?” he asked her before he rinsed his mouth.

“Oh nothing. Just happy I guess.” she replied and kissed his cheek, giggling when she saw the toothpaste she left on it.

He returned to the bedroom before her and went into the bed. She followed him after turning off the light and took off her pants and shirt before grabbing her pajamas. Turning directly towards him, she unclasped her bra and let the garment fall to the floor, quickly followed by her panties. She stretched her arms over her head and enjoyed his look of pure adoration before climbing onto the bed.

“Not now honey, I'm tired.” he stopped her dead in her tracks.

“Wait, wouldn't that usually be my line?” she asked him confused.

“Penny, as much as I want you, I'm bone tired after twenty hours of gluing flower barrettes together. And we can't sleep that long or we won't make it to the post office. Remember, these things are one-day rush.”

“Leonard! We haven't had sex in over a week because of your stupid symposium.” she whined, making her wonder when she had turned into a woman that had to beg her boyfriend for sex, while at the same time cursing him for being so good that she actually begged him for sex.

“And I want to have sex with you but what good will it be when we both almost fall asleep doing it. Let us sleep for a few hours and then we can do it before heading to the post office.” Leonard said and settled himself under the covers.

“Fine. But I won't wear any pajamas and I want you to sleep naked too. The less we have to take off when we wake up, the better. And if you don't have an erection in the morning, I will make one and use it.” she ordered and he complied with a grin, sitting back up and taking off his sleeping attire before settling back under the covers once more.

With a huff, Penny got under the covers as well, pressing herself into his body and wrapping his arm around her waist. She pulled the comforter over both of them and lifted her head so he could push his other arm under her neck. She intertwined the fingers of her right hand with his left that was under her neck and settled herself and although she believed they could have had sex before going to bed, she fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

At around noon, Penny woke up again and was surprised at being the first awake, something that happened very rarely. During their sleep, Leonard had turned away from her onto his back, his left arm still under her neck. She fought to get upright and dragged herself tiredly into the bathroom to relieve the pressure on her bladder.

She splashed some water on her face and went back to the bedroom, planning to lie back down and sleep some more in Leonard's arms. Then she remembered what he had said, that they had to get to the post office at some point to send out the packages with the flower barrettes they had made. She also remembered the other thing, the one she promised and she had no intention of breaking it.

“Leonard.” she whispered into his ear after dropping down next to him. “Wake up.”

“Five more minutes.” he mumbled in his sleep and turned his head into the cushion, making her smile.

“Doctor Hofstadter, you are cordially invited for sexual intercourse.” she purred but he still wouldn't wake up.

Penny grinned down at his body and carefully lifted the comforter away from his body. Her mouth and center watered at seeing his naked form on her bed, even with his limp manhood, indicating that he wasn't even remotely awake, since waking up would mean morning wood.

She moistened her thumb and fingers in her mouth and then gently grabbed his flaccid member, carefully stroking it and running her thumb over the tip, feeling it harden immediately. She placed a feathery kiss to his forehead, to his nose, his lips and his chin before moving her lips down his body, pausing at his chest to gently suck at his nipples, which caused more sleepy moaning from him but his even breathing still told her that he was still asleep.

She continued her downward movements, running her tongue along his skin towards his navel, gently circling it around and darting her tongue in quickly like a snake before going further south. As she reached his abdomen, his manhood was quite erect though not as hard as she liked. She put her left ear to his abdomen and watched his penis as she stroked it, feeling it getting wider to the volume she loved to have inside her.

She bend forward and kissed his shaft, running her lips in still feathery kisses upwards until she reached the tip. She gently ran her tongue around it and heard his breathing change, seeing his eyes open slowly. She continued the circular motion with her tongue until he was awake enough to realize what was happening.

“Penny?” he asked sleepily and with a grin she wrapped her lips around his manhood and pushed down. “Oh god!”

“Does my doctor like that?” she asked playfully after releasing him and continued kissing the tip.

“Oh yes nurse Penny, very much so.” he grinned and bucked his hips in an attempt to get himself back inside her mouth.

“Well, then I think I need to continue, don't I?”

“Please.”

She took him in again and pressed her lips together, giving him the maximum amount of friction possible. As soon as she was completely down, she swallowed, knowing that he loved that feeling. She stayed down as long as possible and slowly lifted her head back up, moving her tongue rapidly around the tip.

Leonard stretched his arm and grabbed her thigh, pulling it closer. She got the hint and got closer, lifting her leg onto the bed, allowing him to put his hands on her hips and lifting her over him. She realized what he was planning and settled herself before pushing herself back onto his face until his mouth connected with her center.

As soon as his tongue touched her folds, she moaned throatily, causing him to buck his hips when the vibration in her throat gave him even more pleasure than anything else. She felt her coil tighten immediately, his skillful tongue doing things to her she still could barely believe were possible. His arms went around her waist and held her down tightly, preventing her from getting off him.

His goal became apparent when she climaxed with a squeal and her body again tried to get away from him to ride it out but his arms prevented her from doing it and he licked her even harder, his tongue moving rapidly inside her and lapping up her juices. She felt her thighs twitching uncontrollably as she came which kept going because Leonard didn't stop his ministrations.

Although she wanted to enjoy him much longer, she knew that they didn't have time to do it for an hour, since they needed to send out the packages and she also had to go to work in late afternoon. So with a heavy heart she disconnected herself from his mouth and manhood and scooted forward to align his manhood with her center. But before she could sink down and finally feel him inside her again, a familiar knocking combination again announced the arrival of Sheldon.

“You've got to be kidding me!” she groaned and got up, donning her robe and going out into her living room, closing the bedroom door beforehand. She heard Leonard moving, probably getting dressed quickly and opened the door to reveal a horrible looking Sheldon.

“Hey CBS.” she greeted him, finally seeing that Leonard's description fitted. “You look horrible.”

“I'm dying.” he said almost in tears, only sparing a second of confusion at her greeting.

“No, you're not.” she replied.

“Is Leonard here? He needs to drive me to the hospital.”

“I'm here.” Leonard said, coming out of her bedroom fully clothed.

“What are you doing coming out of her bedroom?” Sheldon asked.

“I was using the bathroom. We got up a few minutes ago.”

“You two were sleeping in Leonard's bed when I saw you last. Why are you in this apartment now?” Sheldon inquired.

“You kept talking in your sleep.” Penny stated, truthfully enough.

“And that's when we decided to sleep here.” Leonard finished.

“You chose her hard couch before me mumbling in my sleep?”

“Any day.”

“What do you want Sheldon?” Penny asked exasperated.

“I told you, I need to go to the hospital. I'm dying here.” Sheldon whined.

“No, you're not.” Leonard said.

“Leonard, my head hurts, I have blurry vision, my heart's racing and I can't stop my hands from shaking. I probably have a brain tumor.”

“Sheldon, you just have a caffeine overdose, drink lots of water, eat something and go back to bed.” Leonard counseled.

“How can you say that? Are you a doctor?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Not that kind of doctor.” Sheldon yelled. “Why didn't you become pair-bonded with Doctor Barnett when you had the chance.”

Penny had to bite her tongue when Sheldon involuntarily reminded her of the entire Doctor Stephanie saga and his attempts to pair Leonard off with her just because he wanted to have a doctor in their group.

“Sheldon, you don't need to go to a hospital, all you need is bed rest.” Penny said. “Trust me, I had caffeine overdoses too in my life. Your body needs to break it down.”

“No, I can't stand this feeling. I need something to clean my body.” Sheldon stated, leaning against the door frame. “Penny, you said you had this before, don't you know some medical remedy?”

“Sheldon, why don't you go drink some water and go back to bed. Me and Leonard will send out the packages with my barrettes and on the way back I'll bring you some medicine, okay? Oh, and eat something.” Penny replied.

“I can't eat anything, my stomach feels like it's turning in on itself.”

“Eat some hardtack.” Leonard suggested. “There's some on the fridge.”

Without further words, Sheldon dragged himself back into his apartment and Penny closed the door as Leonard flopped down on the couch in frustration. Penny shook her head and followed him, dropping down next to him and putting her head on his shoulder.

“Want to continue?” she asked.

“After that bucket of ice water? You know what will happen if we're not out the door in a few minutes.”

“Yeah, he will come back.” Penny sighed and got up. “Okay, I'll get dressed.” she continued and moved towards her bedroom and took off her robe, revealing her naked backside to him and heard him groan.

“That's not fair.” he whined.

“You had your chance.” she said, poking out her tongue at him and closing the door before getting dressed.

Inwardly she cursed his roommate to hell and back for interrupting them. Since he went to that symposium and was back again, they had had no chance for any sexual contact apart from the foreplay a few minutes ago. And while he must be almost overloaded with pressure, she at least got an orgasm from it.

She went back out, fully dressed and found Leonard coming back into the apartment, grabbing another set of boxes. Apparently he had already begun to take the boxes downstairs and into one of their cars. She grabbed the last two boxes after he took two more and followed him downstairs, depositing them into the trunk of his car.

“When do you have to start to work?” he asked her as he closed the trunk.

“In about two hours, why?” she asked, checking her watch and finding it being almost after two in the afternoon.

“I thought we go for a late lunch after bringing the packages to the post office. And if you take your uniform with you, we can save a little time and enjoy it longer.”

“Great idea! Let me run up and I'll get it.” she said happily and did as she told, grabbing her uniform and putting it into a bag before running back down again.

They got into his car and he drove them to the mall where a post office was situated. They walked into the room and up to the counter, placing the packages and handing the shipping labels to the lady.

After learning that everything was in order, they left the post office and Leonard pulled them to a nearby drug store. Leonard walked directly to one of the workers and asked him something she couldn't hear but kept walking after getting an answer. She followed him until they got to the back of the store, where a young woman was unpacking boxes into the shelves.

“Hey Lucy.” Leonard greeted the woman, igniting a spark of jealously inside Penny.

“Oh, hello Doctor Hofstadter. I told you before, I hate it when people use that particular short form of my name.” the woman, Lucy, greeted back.

“And I told you, Lucretia, out of the classroom it's Leonard.” he said, calming Penny immediately.

“Sorry, you're so much different than other lecturers we have. None of them would allow us to call them by their first name.”

“It's okay.”

“Do you need something?” she asked.

“My roommate is once again a hypochondriac and he has a caffeine overdose.”

“Then she should just drink water, eat something and rest.” Lucretia said to Leonard.

“Yeah, we tried to tell him that, he wants medicine.” Penny threw in, just to be part of the conversation and emphasizing the WE, not liking the way Lucy was looking at Leonard. It could be her imagination but to her it seemed like every good-looking woman was ogling Leonard as if they knew how good he was as a boyfriend and lover.

“Yeah.” Leonard added. “Do you have an empty Vivadone bottle lying around somewhere? I could fill it with water and tell him to take it, sort of like a placebo.”

“Yeah, I think I have something, wait here.” Lucretia said and headed into the storage room, rummaging around there before coming out again and handing Leonard a small and empty bottle.

“Thanks Lucy. I owe you one.”

“Again with the Lucy. But you can pay me back by telling me what will be on the exam next week.” Lucretia quipped. “I mean, I know it's Professor Talman's class and he makes the test but you should know something.”

“Lucretia, I'm shocked.” Leonard feigned outrage. “You know I can't tell you that you should concentrate on thermodynamic flow rates in enclosed spaces.”

“That's too bad.” Lucretia grinned and went back to stacking the shelves.

“Leonard, that was sneaky.” Penny said as they walked out of the store.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” he said innocently and they kept walking through the mall. “So, what are we going to eat for late lunch?”

“Hm, there is this Chinese place upstairs. We could have sushi.” she suggested.

“Okay, why not eat raw fish wrapped in rice and seaweed.”

“Ha ha, come on, sushi tastes great.”

“I doubt it but for you, anything.”

“Aw, you're so sweet.” she said and kissed right in the middle of the crowd, not caring who saw them.

They took the stairs to the top floor of the mall and walked towards the restaurant, the time of the day making it rather empty, which got them a table immediately. The waitress took their drink order and Penny ordered a portion of Makizushi so Leonard could taste it, but instead the waitress brought them a single piece instead of the usual six free of charge.

“Wow, that does taste great.” Leonard said after eating the piece. “What is in that?”

“This piece is made with salmon.” the waitress replied with a heavy Asian accent. “In the menu are all the variants we offer.”

They looked through the menu and Penny had hers picked out immediately but Leonard took a bit longer. After five minutes, the waitress returned to place their drinks and dishes in front of them and to take their orders but before Penny could tell her what she wanted, Leonard interrupted her.

“Honey, what if we take one of the two-person platters on page four?” he suggested, making her leaf through the menu.

“They have forty pieces on it.”

“Yeah, but I'm hungry and I reckon you are too so why not? Also, there's a lot of selections on it.”

“Well, I'm game.” she said and the waitress noted it on her notebook. “What's on that platter?”

“Several Makizushi pieces with salmon, tuna, some with cucumber and those pieces with salmon roes on the outside.”

“Leonard? First doubtful about eating sushi at all and now going for the fish eggs?” she grinned.

“Hey, it's not like I ordered those Nigirizushi with cuttlefish on top.” he quipped back.

“Ew. Seriously, when it comes to creatures with tentacles, I'm drawing the line.”

Before Leonard could say anything, the waitress brought them their platter and Penny's mouth watered at the sight in front of her. Leonard's statement that she was hungry was confirmed when her stomach rumbled loudly, emitting a laugh from both the waitress and Leonard.

They put soy sauce into the bowls that were inbuilt into the plates and broke the chop sticks open and started eating. Leonard moaned in delight at the taste, not quite believing that rice and raw fish could taste that good.

Penny had the same thoughts, enjoying something she loved with the man she loved even more and seeing him enjoying it too. Also, this meal was the first time she tasted those things with the roes around them but she had to admit, it tasted great as well. They both ate twenty pieces each with him surrendering his cucumber pieces in exchange for her tuna and when they were done, Penny was quite full.

They both leaned back into their chairs and enjoyed the feeling of a full stomach, with Penny unable to prevent a small burp coming out, making Leonard laugh. He mentioned for the waitress to take away their dishes and bring them the bill.

It took only few minutes for the waitress to return and bring them the bill plus the complementary Umeshu. Leonard paid and lifted his glass and she mirrored his position. They clinked their glasses while looking into each others eyes and slowly drank it, the sweet taste of the drink a welcome ending to this amazing late lunch. And although they drank liquor it was a small enough amount of it for him not to be unable to drive.

“Come on, we need to go.” Leonard said and got up, holding out his hand for her.

“Do we have to? I'm so mellow right now.” she whined.

“Penny, it's three-thirty. Your shift starts in thirty minutes.” he told her and she let him pull her up.

“Already? Damn, we have been sitting here for more than an hour?”

They went back into the mall and down the stairs before heading out to his car. She got into the passengers seat and buckled up while he did the same. He started the car and drove her the short distance to the Cheesecake Factory, his hand constantly on her leg when he didn't need it on the stick shift.

After twenty minutes, they arrived in front of her workplace and before she got out, she leaned over and kissed him hard on the lips, shoving her tongue into his mouth and tasting the liquor they had after their lunch. Their kiss was interrupted by a knock on the driver's side window. She broke away from him and saw Cheryl standing next to the car, grinning like a cat and already dressed in her uniform.

“Hey, if you want to have sex in the car, you should park behind the restaurant.” she said, laughing. “Otherwise, Penny, you need to get out because our shift starts in two minutes.”

“Goddammit, why does time fly like that?” she cursed, realizing that she and Leonard had kissed for eight minutes. “I need to change first.”

“Have fun with your shift.” Leonard said and pulled her in for another quick kiss before she got out of the car. “I'll go home and fill the medicine bottle with water and a bit of mouthwash before giving it to Sheldon.”

“Wait, how am I gonna get home?” Penny asked.

“Call me and I'll pick you up. Or I could just come over a few minutes before your shift ends.”

“Or I can drive you home.” Cheryl suggested. “Or to my place for a girls night. We hadn't had that in a while.”

“We'll see. Leonard, if I need you to get me, I'll call you ten minutes before ten. If I don't, Cheryl takes me, either home or to her place.”

“Fine.” Leonard agreed and Penny bent down to give him one last kiss before heading into the restaurant with Cheryl in tow.

“You look a little frustrated.” Cheryl stated. “Trouble in paradise?”

“Stop sounding so hopeful. No, there is no trouble, we just hadn't had sex in ten days because Leonard was at a symposium for a week and after it we got interrupted every time we could have.”

“Ah well. A girl can only hope.” Cheryl said and poked out her tongue at Penny, who went into the ladies room to change into her uniform.

While she was doing that, she hoped that she would get a few hours with Leonard in her bed soon, otherwise she would start bouncing against the walls because of her need for him. And also, she had to look for a dress for their anniversary, making Leonard's insistence about her not blowing the money she earned today on shoes quite prophetic. Now she had enough in the bank to afford a mind blowing dress.

Although she didn't know yet what he had planned, he had told her that she should take the weekend off and pack a bag, which meant that he was planning to take her somewhere. And she wanted to be ready for everything before she could finally say that she loved him. So much that it hurt sometimes just being away from him.

* * *

**And there is that. You will have to hold out a little longer :D**

_ **Review please :)** _


	29. Chapter 29

**Wow, Chapter 29. Never thought this thing would go that far. Soon there will be a 3 as the first number. And maybe even a 4, depending on you, the readers. But hey, maybe you will the sick of me and my brain farts. If so, I have no problem stopping :D**

**Enjoy :)**

**** Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going. ** **

* * *

“Oh! My! Fucking! God!” Penny screamed as yet another climax rushed through her body and exploded inside her head.

Fourteen days. Fourteen days without sex. After their flower barrette producing weekend, Sheldon had completely taken over Leonard in his attempt to get healthy again, the caffeine overload he had suffered still apparent days later, at least in his mind.

It didn't help that Leonard had to work in the mornings while she had to work evenings, giving them even less time together, not to mention that her shifts had been exhausting enough to make her fall into bed immediately after returning home. But at least he still had to fight with the budget constraints, which meant that he worked a short week. So it came with no small amount of joy when on Wednesday evening he had appeared at her door and said one sentence that led to the situation they were in right now.

“Sheldon's asleep and we both have the day off tomorrow.”

That was all she had needed to pull him into her apartment and make every other word impossible by fusing their lips together. She had pushed him into her bedroom and they had ripped the clothes off each other to connect their naked bodies. She had pushed him onto the bed and, not even bothering with foreplay, had mounted him to ride him as hard and fast as she could.

The long time since their last time had become apparent when he climaxed in less than five minutes, giving her only one orgasms, which was rare for them but still more than other women she knew had. She hadn't wasted any time, jumping off the bed and running into the bathroom to clean herself out before hurrying back and planting herself on his face to have him lick her for the next thirty minutes.

She hadn't realized it at first that it had been thirty minutes while he licked her though, only after he had pushed her off him and telling her that he was ready again. She had turned around and saw his erect manhood beckoning her so she did what she wanted to do the last time they were in bed together before Sheldon had interrupted them and sunk down on him in reverse cowgirl style. With his hands on her hips, she bounced hard on him, the slapping of their skin hitting reverberating through the room and competing against her screams of pleasure.

Since that was a GSS position, she had climaxed a lot. So much that she couldn't continue and had to let him take over the active part which he had done by rapidly pumping his hips, making her come even more and louder as the endorphins flooded her system until he climaxed as well.

They had rested for another hour with him spooning her body until she felt him grow once more. Without even bothering to move them, he had simply slung one leg over her waist to hold her to him and to get leverage before pushing into her and relentlessly taking her sideways. She knew that they were probably overdoing it and would pay for their lust in the morning after waking up but she didn't care.

She had wanted to spread her legs wide but instead opted to squeeze them harder together since it increased the friction as his thick member spread her insides wide. All the while he had been pounding her, they were kissing open-mouthed, their tongues dancing while allowing them to breath easier. The only times they didn't kiss was when she climaxed, where she opted to push her face into her cushion to scream her joy into it. She had no idea how long he had lasted but he climaxed again and lay still against her back at least until he had summoned the strength to pull the both of them out of bed and into the bathroom.

Penny had barely been able to walk and Leonard hadn't been much better off, so they simply dropped into the bathtub and let it fill with water until it was full. They enjoyed the warm fluid embrace for almost another hour before it got too cold to stay in there any longer.

To her surprise and envy, Leonard had been walking almost normally now while she still had problems moving straight. He had led her outside by the hips, holding himself tightly to and walking in step with her so their legs wouldn't intertwine while walking. When he had pressed himself against her, she felt his already hard manhood and wondered how he was able to be ready again when she herself was still exhausted. But on the other hand, she had already become moist at feeling him hard. She wanted more of him, simply more.

He had pressed her upper body down onto the bed and settled against her before entering her again and pounding her hard and rough, his hand slapping against her ass while he thrust into her without letting up in speed and intensity. Her sheet had once again become a sound absorber for her screams and she screamed a lot.

Hence their current situation with her loud exclamation of taking the lords name in vain while she climaxed for the umpteenth time, after which he actually stopped moving to let her ride it out. She moved her ass to the left and right, feeling his thick shaft moving against her insides and enjoying the feeling of him filling her out that good. The small part of her brain that was still functioning wondered why she was trying to create more friction when knowing that she would be really sore in the morning.

“Leonard, what's gotten into you?” she panted.

“Oh my god, did I hurt you? Don't tell me I hurt you.” he pleaded.

“No, no no, you didn't hurt me, quite the opposite. But you are doing me for so long and oh-so-good, what is going on? Not that I'm complaining, mind you.”

“Two weeks.” was his only reply and attempted to bring them onto the bed proper without having to pull out.

“Admit it, you want me to be unable tooooooo...” she moaned as he brought them onto the bed proper simply by pushing forward and since he was still inside her, his move pressed his tip really hard against her g-spot. “...to walk in the morning.” she finished. “God, that felt good.”

“Maybe that's my plan. If you can't walk, I can take you whenever I want.” he grinned and slowly thrust into her.

“Mmmh. Won't Sheldon interrupt us constantly?” she asked him and he stopped.

“Could you stop talking about my crazy roommate when we're having sex?”

“Sorry. But when Sheldon... uh... uh... uh... uh!” she moaned when he suddenly thrust into her as hard as he could, stopping her from saying any coherent word.

“You were saying?” he breathed into her ear after stopping again.

“I said, when Sheldon... oh... shit... jeez... god!” she rhythmically yelled when repeated his earlier movements again, this time without stopping or slowing down. She climaxed again quickly but this time he didn't let her ride it out, simply thrusting as hard as he could and prolonging her orgasm until it continued into another.

He tried his best to hold out as long as he could but the feeling of her walls tightening around his member and her exultant yells of pleasure soon had him falling over the edge as well with a loud groan.

He pulled out of her and collapsed onto the bed, immediately pulling her into his embrace. He panted heavily at the exertion and took a few minutes to get his breathing under control before letting go of her and allowing her to turn onto her back.

“That was amazing.” she sighed and pressed him against her side.

“Yeah.” he agreed and started to run his finger and tongue over her left nipple.

“You're still not done? Have you replaced parts of yourself with machinery?” she asked.

“Oh, I'm done. Exhausted. This is just encore.” he replied and settled himself back into bed.

“Hm, I should mention Sheldon more often during sex, you became like a wild animal.”

“Oh, you didn't like that?”

“Don't be ridiculous, that was amazing.”

“Still, don't mention Sheldon during sex, it's bad enough when he shows up at your door when we're about to do it.” he said. “By the way, what about your flower barrettes business?”

“After you took the one-day rush option away, I posted a comment where I said that I make these things by hand after the order is in, so I accept only small orders or if they really want a massive order, they have to wait a few weeks.”

“So you'll keep doing it?”

“Of course, it's a nice added bonus to my normal paycheck.”

“What time is it?” he asked.

“It's ten after three.” she replied after looking at her clock. “Holy crap, we had sex for five hours if you count the breaks.”

“Hey, still a few times away from our record.” he grinned.

“Yeah, but I seriously can't do it anymore right now. We should get some sleep.” she suggested.

“Agreed.” he said and pulled her off the bed into the bathroom for a final wash-up and teeth cleaning.

They headed back out and into bed naked, with Penny pushing herself into his chest to get the maximum amount of contact again. She just hoped that Sheldon won't come over in the morning because she would probably punch him in the throat for waking her up on her day off. But he should know this already.

* * *

Penny was awakened by Leonard attempting to move away from her, something her body really didn't want because almost automatically, her body scooted backwards with him and her hand grabbed his arm that was still around her waist and pressed it to her skin. He kept trying to get up but Penny really didn't want that to happen.

“No, don't get up. Stay with me please.” she implored and draped his arm back around her.

“Penny, I really need to pee.” he murmured and she allowed him to get up that time to let him use the bathroom.

He went and closed the door and she could hear him groan as he relieved himself, making her grin. Unfortunately, his mention of peeing made her realize that she too needed to use the toilet but on the other hand she felt so sore but sated, she could barely move a muscle. When the bathroom door opened again and he came back out, she sat up in the bed and tried to stand with no success, her legs unable to carry her right now.

“Wow, even after eight hours.” she mused to herself.

“What?” he asked, after hearing her mumble.

“Oh, nothing. I just realized that we slept eight hours and I'm still having trouble getting up because my legs feel like jello.” she said. “Could you help me?”

“Of course.” he replied and came to stand in front of her, holding out his hands and helping her stand up.

“Thanks. I'm good now, I can walk.” she said and took a tentative step before taking another. As she made her way into the bathroom and turned on the light, she heard a gasp from Leonard.

“Oh god, I'm so sorry.” he said and she turned around to find him standing close to the door, having followed her in case she had too much trouble walking.

“What? What is it?”

“I think I got a little too... passionate last night.” he told her embarrassed and returned to the bed.

She looked down at her body and wondered what he meant, seeing nothing but a small bite mark on her left breast but that had happened several times before already. She flopped down onto her toilet and did her ablutions before using the small toiletry cabinet to get back up again and return to the bedroom.

“What did you mean by too passionate?” she asked him and he simply pointed behind her to the floor length mirror.

She looked behind her and saw her backside in the floor length mirror, realizing what he meant when she saw the still red finger marks on her ass and hips and the bite marks on her ass cheeks. She was about to admonish him but when she thought back to what he had done to her last night, she decided that those marks were well worth it.

“I wear those as a sign of pride.” she declared. “I got you so wild, you did that to me.”

“Okay then.” he grinned and patted the space next to him.

“Wow, I really ache down there.” she said as she gingerly sat down on the bed.

“I'm sorry, I won't do you like that again.”

“Don't you dare. I take such aches any day if they come from a love fest like last night.”

“Want to cuddle some more? Oh, it's almost noon.”

“We should get up. I fear, if I snuggle myself into your arms again, we won't get up all day.”

“Fine by me.” he grinned.

“Me too. But I do want to do some things today. Eating is one thing, because I am hungry.”

“Wanna go out? There's this new buffet place a few blocks away.”

“I'd love to. Lets get dressed.” she said and put action to her words.

Leonard put on his pajama clothes and robe he came over in last night while Penny rummaged in her drawer for some underwear. She grabbed some white panties and shoved them on, wincing when she pulled them up completely.

“What's wrong?” Leonard asked concerned.

“Nothing. I'm just... really sore between my legs.” she smiled. “Still totally worth it.”

“Wait here.” he said and left her apartment.

She waited for two minutes but when he hadn't returned, she grabbed a bra and put that on at least before doing some stretching to relieve some of the stress in her legs and midsection. While she looked also around for some pants to wear that wouldn't hurt, she heard her apartment door open and close again.

“Here.” a fully-clothed Leonard said and handed her a pair of his shorts.

“Aw, thank you.” she smiled and put them on, their looseness making them very comfortable to wear in her current condition.

“Is it strange for me to think that you look ridiculously hot wearing my shorts?”

“Really? Better than naked?”

“Not even close.” he grinned.

“Better than in a thong?”

“Even remoter.”

“That's what I thought. Now I just have to find some pants that are wide enough not to hurt.”

“Why not wear a skirt?” he suggested.

“Great idea!” she exclaimed and gave him a quick kiss before grabbing a skirt that went down to her knees. “By the way, what did Sheldon say when you came from my apartment in your robe?”

“Nothing, because he's not home. He wrote me a note saying he wanted to go to work since he felt better now and he even took the bus.”

“He sure is crazy to say no to a day off.” she said while she changed into a shirt that fit better with the skirt but its low neckline showed off her cleavage in a very revealing manner.

“He really is. He thinks vacations are things that happen only to other people.”

“Seriously, he's a whackadoodle.” she said and turned around to him. “How do I look?”

“Breathtaking as ever.” he replied grinning and offered her his hand, which she gladly accepted.

“Thanks. Oh I forgot to mention, I got a printer, could you hook it up?”

“I could. Should I do it now or do you want to go out first?”

Instead of answering, she grabbed his hand and they went down the stairs together. Since the weather was pleasant and the distance not that far, Penny decided to have them walk the distance instead of separating to get into his car. He grudgingly acquiesced and they walked the relatively short distance hand in hand. Penny once more noticed odd looks from some people, usually younger men who stared at her cleavage as well as Leonard and their joined hands with mostly disbelief and some envy, especially from the group of men they were approaching.

“Good thing I did a little stretching before you came back with your shorts.” she said loud enough to make the group hear her.

“Why?”

“It would have looked strange to walk with a limp because of sexual overload.” she told him, timing the last part to come out exactly at the same time they were passing the group of men who were checking her and their joined hands out way too much for her liking, saying the words just loud enough for them to hear her but not so loud that it seemed to be on purpose.

Her plan appeared to have worked and she enjoyed the both shocked and disappointed groans from the group of males they had passed while Leonard didn't pay attention to them, as his brain was still processing her sexual overload comment.

“You know, whenever you say something like that, I don't know if I should feel bad because in scientific and engineering terms an overload is generally a bad thing.” Leonard said and that caused Penny to stop him and put her hands on his shoulders.

“Sweetie, listen to me and listen to me good. If you could experience what it feels like when you fuck me crazy like you did last night, you would know that there is nothing I would do to change that. Yes, I might feel aching and sore a day later and maybe it becomes like an overload in my brain but it feels so unbelievably awesome that I gladly bear anything that might result from that. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you.” he smiled.

“Good.” she said and kissed him. “Now come on, I'm starving.”

Penny pulled him the rest of the way, starting to feel good enough to bounce a bit in her step, the happiness she felt translating itself into her legs. She couldn't help but feel good. She had an amazing boyfriend who was probably the nicest man she ever met and that she loved so much that it almost hurt physically to be apart from him and who also did unbelievable things to her in bed.

Soon, they entered the restaurant and Penny was immediately drawn to the buffet trays where a ridiculous amount of different vegetables and some fruits were laid out. She turned around and saw Leonard talking to the maitre d' who pointed him towards a four-man table, since all the smaller ones were already taken. She walked towards Leonard and sat down at the table appointed to them and waited for a waiter to come over to take their drink orders.

“Hello and welcome to Fiorinis.” a waiter greeted them. “Do you need menus or are you here for the buffet?”

“We'll take the buffet.” Leonard replied.

“Very well. Can I bring you something to drink?”

“I'll take a Ginger Ale.” Leonard said.

“And I take an orange juice.” Penny added.

“Coming right up. You can get some food right now if you want, dishes and cutlery are on the table next to the food.”

They got up and grabbed an empty dish each before heading to the food. Penny's mouth watered looking at the selection. She loaded her plate with everything from salad to tomatoes and cucumbers to several forms of beans and lots of other stuff until she was barely able to balance it all. Leonard was a bit more modest since he could get as many refills as he wanted and put less on his own plate.

They returned to their table and started eating, Penny digging into her selection with gusto, finishing her plate even faster than Leonard did his, her immediate hunger sated for the moment. She waited for him to finish before both went to the food table again to load up another plate. They both deliberately avoided the bread, knowing that it only led to feeling full too soon. After polishing off her fifth plate, she leaned back and waited for Leonard to finish his fourth.

“Wow, that hit the spot.” she giggled.

“I think they still have a tomato slice left.” Leonard quipped.

“Really?” Penny sat up. “I need to eat that.”

Leonard laughed and Penny joined in before he mentioned the waiter to them and paid their bill. They got up and walked outside where Penny lifted her head into the warm afternoon sun. As soon as Leonard was beside her, she grabbed his hand again and intertwined their fingers pulling him along the sidewalk.

“Where are we going?” Leonard asked as they were walking in the opposite direction of their apartment block.

“To the park. The weather is too nice to go back home right away.” she replied.

They walked around for a while and sat down on a bench, with Penny sitting down sideways on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes and put her head against his, simply enjoying the contact with him.

She was jerked upright by poke into her side, tickling her slightly and she opened her eyes to a smiling Leonard. He mentioned for her to get up and she followed his directions, watching him get up as well and shaking the leg she had been sitting on.

“What's wrong?” she asked him.

“Nothing, just have to get circulation back into my leg after you sat on it for two hours.”

“TWO HOURS?” she yelled, shocked.

“Yeah, you fell asleep and you looked so cute, I didn't want to wake you. Also, your positioning allowed me to look down your shirt so I kinda forgot the time too.” he replied sheepishly.

“Seriously, wake me if that happens. Also, why do you need to look down my shirt for two hours? You know how they look naked. Remember, you had them in your mouth ten hours ago.”

“I know. It's more like combating a disbelief that I actually know how they look uncovered. Also, they still look amazing when presented like that.” he said, but a reply from her was cut short when his cellphone rang.

“Hello... Hey Sheldon... no, I'm out in the park, enjoying the weather... yeah, I can do that on my way back... Yes, when will that be... okay... yes, I know. Bye.”

“What does he want?” she asked.

“He informed me that he and the guys were on their way to our apartment and I should pick up the Chinese food.”

“Is it strange that I'm hungry again?” Penny asked.

“Considering we only had vegetables for lunch, not really.”

“But I ate five plates.” she argued.

“Still, it's mostly water and low in carbs. Now come on, we'll pick it up on the way home, it's only a detour of two blocks.

Penny made sure to put her hands into his again as they walked the relatively short distance to the Chinese Restaurant that Leonard had to get the food in. They walked inside and Leonard placed their order to go and after being informed that it would take a few minutes, Penny used the time to press her body into his and close his arms around her, enjoying the embrace he gave her. That also helped to dissuade any possible plans the guy who stared at her cleavage had to make a move on her.

After Leonard paid for their order, he got handed two bags with their food containers and they left the restaurant again. As Penny grabbed one of them to free up one of his hands so she could intertwine their fingers again, she let the day reminisce in her head. Multiple mind-blowing and passionate sex sessions followed by a quiet morning and an almost romantic light lunch and a day out in the sun and now on her way home for dinner with him and his whacky friends. She knew that she'd do anything to make as many days as possible to be like this again.

When they reached the door of their apartment block, she let go of his hand and handed him the second back to fish out her keys so she could check her mailbox. Just as she turned back towards the waiting Leonard, the door opened again and his friends and roommate entered, with Howard's eyes immediately falling to her chest.

“Oh good Penny, you're also here. Now we won't have to wait.” Sheldon stated and started to go up the stairs.

“Penny, you didn't have to dress like that just for me. I'm flattered though.” Howard said creepily, making her roll her eyes.

“Howard, take a good look.” Penny said and bend slightly forward while using her arms to squeeze her breasts together, making them stand out even more. “You will never ever see them naked. And I will change before I come over to eat.”

She stomped up the stairs and quickly entered her apartment. She went into her bedroom and took off the skirt and shirt before donning brown knee-length sweatpants and a same-colored shirt, wide enough to hide the fact that she had big breasts. As she headed out into the hallway again, she saw one of her neighbors coming down the stairs, a box in hand.

“Oh, hello Mister Wilkerson. Cleaning out?” she asked, pointing towards the box.

“No, we're moving out. My wife has knee problems and they have become too severe to have her walk up the stairs every day. And since the landlord doesn't seem to care about the broken elevator, we had to pull the plug.”

“Oh. Well, good luck wherever you end up.”

“Thank you.”

Penny let him pass her and entered the other apartment to find the guys sitting on the couch, Sheldon with an exasperated look and the others with something like fear in their eyes.

“What's wrong?” she asked.

“There's a giant spider in our bathroom.” Leonard said and pointed behind him. “Can't you take care of it?”

“Sure.” she replied and went directly to their bathroom, looking around to find the offending arachnid. She started to laugh when she saw the tiny eight-legged animal sitting on the edge of the sink and grabbed a piece of toilet paper to grab it.

“Okay, it’s done.” she proclaimed after coming back into the living room and depositing the spider into the trash bin. “Look, guys, for the future, I don’t mind killing the big spiders, but you have to at least try with the little ones.”

“Penny, please, we’re facing a far more serious problem than stray arachnids.” Sheldon said, still looking exasperated.

“Sheldon, it’s not that bad.” Leonard tried to calm him.

“Not bad? It’s horrible. I mean, you hear stories about this sort of thing, but you never think it’ll happen to you.” Sheldon countered, making Penny wonder what serious thing had happened.

“So they steamed your dumplings, get over it. New topic, please.” Leonard said and Penny mentally did a face palm after hearing what the bad thing was.

“All right.” Howard took up the mantle. “Penny, let me take this opportunity to point out that you are looking particularly ravishing today.”

“Not with a thousand condoms, Howard.” she told him, completely serious.

“So, there is a number.” came the retort, making her roll her eyes again.

“Okay, new topic, please.” Penny changed the conversation. “Hey, did you hear the people upstairs in 5A are moving out?”

“What?” Sheldon let out, stretching the vowel while Leonard tried to stop her from talking.

“The people upstairs are moving out.” she clarified.

“No!” Leonard tried harder to stop her.

“The horror!” Sheldon breathed, making her wonder what his problem was.

“Why would you just say something like that?” Leonard asked her.

“How else was I supposed to say it?” she asked back.

“Slowly, like putting a new fish in a tank. You don’t just drop it in, you let the bag sit in the water a while.” he answered while Sheldon still sounded like someone who tried to tell a horror story.

“Sheldon, I’m sure it’s going to be fine.” Penny tried to calm him.

“No, it’s not going to be fine, change is never fine. They say it is, but it’s not.”

“Okay, honey, did you even know the people that are moving out?”

“I never met them.” Sheldon said as he got up. “That’s what made them perfect, there were no awkward hellos in the halls, there was no clickety-clacking of high heel shoes on hardwood floors, they may as well have been a family of cats just jumping around from drape to drape without that annoying ammonia urine smell.”

“Well, I’m sure the new people will be just as quiet.” she suggested.

“You can’t know that. How can you possibly know that?”

“You’re right, I can’t. You know what? Anyone could rent that apartment now, an opera singer, the cast of stomp or a tap-dancing pirate with a wooden leg.” she let out, enjoying Sheldon's ever-growing agitation and also Leonard's equally growing exasperation.

“Why are you making it worse?” her boyfriend asked her.

“I tried making it better, he wouldn’t go for it.” she said innocently as Raj whispered something into Howard's ear.

“You’re right, that’s a great idea.” the engineer translated. “I’ll take the apartment upstairs. I can finally get away from my mother, and we can all spend some more time together, if you catch my drift.” he directed at Penny.

“The horror!” she mirrored Sheldon's expression, the feeling completely genuine.

“Come on Penny. It will be fun, I can visit you every day.”

“Make it stop.” Penny shouted, holding her hands to her ears before taking her chopsticks back into her hands. “If you knock on my door every day, I will stick these into your eyes.” she threatened.

“I'm kidding.” Howard surrendered. “But won't it be fun if I live here? If Raj sleeps over, we could do all-night video gaming.”

“That is actually a good idea.” Sheldon agreed. “I think this thought of yours has merit. Makes me wonder why I didn't come up with since you're just an engineer.”

“Sheldon, you don't want to have an angry engineer living above you.” Leonard advised and turned to Penny. “And you can consider yourself lucky, if he'd move in 5B, he'll probably spend his evenings prone on the floor, his ear pressed to it to catch any noises you might make.”

“Ew.” she gagged. “Okay, now that I have been grossed out enough, I think I will finish my dinner at my place, watching America's worst neighbors, thinking of Howard the entire time.”

“Good to see you thinking of me.” Howard quipped and Penny huffed before getting out of the apartment and back into her own, her sanctuary.

She flopped down on her couch, glad to be able to do that again, and continued eating her dinner. She turned on the TV and watched the news, trying to decide exactly what to watch since she didn't have a TV guide lying around. Instead, she switched on her laptop to look what was running on TV. As soon as Skype finished loading, she heard the familiar ring and saw the image of her parents on the screen.

“Hey daddy.” she greeted her father who appeared on her screen.

“Hey slugger. How have you been?”

“Pretty good actually. I started a small business, making flower barrettes on demand.”

“That's great. Any luck so far?”

“Actually yeah, I sold a thousand of them to a gay luau in New Jersey. Leonard made a mistake and put a one-day rush option on the website and we stayed up all night making the barrettes.”

“Leonard, huh? So I assume that is still going strong?” Wyatt asked.

“Yes, it is.” Penny grinned widely. “We have our one-year anniversary next month.”

“That long already?”

“Yes. And knowing him, he as something good planned.”

“Listen Penny, the reason I called, we were wondering if you'd like to spend some time in the summer here with us.”

“I would love to!”

“Can you bring Leonard with you again? I want to show him what I did with that energy savings plan he gave me.”

“Did you follow it?” she asked him.

“To the letter and more. I'm now the proud owner of a geothermal heat pump that warms the house and stables in the winter and cools it in the summer. And as long as the temperature doesn't drop below minus twenty in the winter, we don't even need the fireplaces. I had those water pipes for the warm water laid under the floors, now we have floor heating in the entire house.”

“That's amazing daddy.”

“Yeah, you can walk barefoot in the winter and never have cold feet. Plus, I leased part of our property to an energy company and they put two wind turbines there and now I get paid rent by them.”

“Well congratulations. I will ask him and I think as long as he doesn't have something really important to do, I think we will both come visit again.”

“Great. Oh, you can tell him that since your last visit, Tornado is now more a breeze. He's not aggressive anymore.”

“I'll tell him.”

“Bye slugger. Say hi to Leonard for us, okay? Love you.”

“Will do. Tell mom I love her. Love you too dad.” Penny said and ended the connection, leaning back into her couch.

Another trip to Nevada sounded great, especially when Leonard was again with her. And since she still had some money in the bank from their Vegas winnings and her barrette sales, she could even afford a plane ticket this time, saving them at least two days driving time. Not to mention the amazing sex they had there, repeating that would be very welcome.

Since there was nothing in TV she was interested in, she put in another DVD of Friends to watch several episodes from season three. At least that distracted her from the fact that Howard might soon be a neighbor of hers, the thought of meeting him in the hallway every day making her nauseous.

* * *

A few minutes before eleven pm, the last episode of the second DVD was over and Penny stood up to take it out of the player and put it back into the case. That was another thing she had started to do since meeting Leonard. Before he came into her life, she had regularly left DVDs in the player and Kurt had usually either put them in some random case or simply flung them across the room.

She was just about to head into her bedroom, when her door opened after a quick knock and Leonard entered wearing his robe, which immediately raised her mood. She smiled warmly at him as he closed in on her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

“Hey you.” she greeted him.

“Hey. Just to let you know, Howard called the landlord after you left and got the okay to move in. Me and the others are helping him move tomorrow morning. They went home a few minutes after you left so he can pack.”

“Oh god. This is going to be a nightmare.”

“Relax. It won't be as bad as you think. You just have to accept that he will stand outside your apartment with his ear pressed to your door. Or on the stairwell with his ear pressed to the wall, hoping to listen to you have sex.”

“You do realize that he will listen to US having sex, don't you?” she asked.

“Yeah but he doesn't know it's me. At least as long as he doesn't get the bright idea of knocking at my door to get me to listen as well. Which he won't do because he knows I'd tell you.”

“Leonard.” she whined.

“I'm kidding. But seriously, there's nothing we can do about it. We can't tell him not to do it.”

“I know. It still sucks.” she sighed and flopped down on the armrest of her couch. “Do you have to go to work tomorrow?”

“No, since the budget constraints still apply, we all took the day off to help Howard. Sheldon did it reluctantly of course. Why do you ask?”

“Will you stay with me again?”

“Of course I will.” he replied. “By the way, how is your downstairs area? Still aching?”

“The outside is fine. Flopped down on the couch without problems. On the inside, I don't know.” she replied and followed him into her bedroom.

He went straight the bathroom and closed the door, making Penny wait until he was done on the toilet before she went in behind him as he was brushing his teeth. She undressed and, while enjoying his look of pure desire, stepped into the shower to clean herself before bed. She heard him spit and quickly soaped herself before washing it off and stepped back out.

After drying off, she hung the towel up and brushed her teeth as well, grabbing her clothes on the way out without bothering to put them on. She placed them on a foot stool and went to her side of the bed, getting in and preparing to scoot into his chest like they usual did during nights.

“You know, I've said it before and I'll say it again, while you look strangely hot wearing my clothes, nothing beats you being naked.” he grinned.

“Why do you think I walked in here like that.” she smiled right back. “By the way, do you mind if I keep your shorts? You know, in case I need it again.”

“Sure. Then you're covered when I... uh... get too passionate again.” Leonard stuttered.

“Leonard! Stop being so politically correct all the time. Just say the words that fit here. I can use them again the next time you fuck me senseless and leave me sore and aching.”

“Yeah, I didn't want to say it like that, it makes me feel back to cause you pain.”

“And I said before, it's a kind of pain I gladly bear. Also, nothing a little yoga can't fix.”

“Stretching you must, young padawan.” Leonard said, throwing his voice.

“I said yoga, not Yoda.” she deadpanned.

“Good lord, you know Yoda. You just got even hotter, if that is even possible.”

“Yeah, I may have never watched the movies but even I know about the little guy.” she smiled but then turned serious. “I can't believe that from tomorrow onward, we might have to worry about Howard listening to us through the wall.”

“You do realize that I was kidding about that. It's not like he will actually dot it.” he tried to reassure her. “Although knowing Howard, you can never be sure.”

“Not helping. This could be our last night not listened to.” she argued, not knowing that her two best friends were able to listen to this conversation and everything else as well.

“So we should use the time, you mean?”

“Maybe. One more love fest where I can be loud?”

“You sure? You said before that you might still be sore inside.”

“Yeah, I might be, I probably still am. Could be really painful, like trying to run while still having sore muscles from the last jog. When we had our eight times all-nighter, I was sore for three days.”

“Well, there is a way to test it.” he said in an attempted sultry voice, making her laugh lightly.

“Really, what would that be?”

Instead of answering, he scooted down her body until he was hidden from her by the blanket over them. She felt his lips trail a path downwards, pausing at her breasts for a minute and making her shiver in both anticipation and delight. As soon as he was where she wanted him to be, he tapped her thighs and she took the hint, opening her legs wide and putting her hands on the insides of her knees to hold them open, thus letting him use his hands for something else.

That other purpose became clear when she felt his thumbs glide over her folds and she couldn't stop a moan from escaping her throat despite the fact that he hasn't even started to actually lick her. The fact that he was hidden from her sight added even more to the whole thing and when his tongue finally connected with her skin, she couldn't help but yelp before giggling. And even without seeing him, she could feel him smile at her reaction.

“Oh, that feels so good.” she breathed when she felt his tongue run up and down her folds.

“Any pain?” his muffled voice came from under the covers.

“No, quite the opposite, keep going.” he replied and started bucking her hips slightly to get more friction.

He took the cue from her movement and quickened his pace, his tongue darting up and down along her already slick folds as if not wanting to waste any drop of her arousal. She let out a low squeal when his tongue dipped into her and a mewl when he took it out again and lifted his head away.

“Did it hurt?”

“No, but it did feel kinda strange. But do it again please.”

“As you wish.” he replied and did exactly that, dipping his tongue between her folds and slowly moving it along her inner walls.

As if coating her insides with some ointment, the more he did that, the better it felt. She nudged him to speed up incrementally and after fifteen minutes, his tongue moved rapidly inside her, making her coil tighten once again with the power of his mouth alone. Throughout the time he licked her, she had stretched her legs over his shoulders, giving her hands the ability to do more than just hold them apart. Not that she used them for much else than either being pressed against the headboard or holding his head harder on her.

“God, I'm coming!” she yelled and her hips bucked in orgasmic shock. He let his head move expertly with her hips, keeping up the pressure against her until she had calmed down. His head detached from her and she felt him move up her body until he reappeared from the covers with a big smile and kissed her, making her taste herself on his lips.

She felt his erection press against her, making her wonder how he had managed to take off his shorts when his hands had been firmly attached to her body the entire time. She moved her hips against him, desperate to have him inside her but even in his arousal, she felt him move slightly away.

“What's wrong?” she asked him.

“Do you really want to? I'd rather not hurt you.”

“Leonard, it's okay. Just do it slowly. And if it hurts, I'll say something, alright?”

“Okay.” he said and smiled, which she returned.

“Good. Now, my good doctor, make love to me.”

“Very well. Once more into the breach.”

“Come on, really?” she said incredulous and in a high pitch to which he just laughed.

He grabbed between them to position his member correctly and pushed forward, making Penny gasp as soon as the tip was past her folds. He paused for a few seconds and Penny slung her legs around his waist until her feet were on his ass, using them to show him that he could push forward. As he thrust slowly, going only slightly deeper with every thrust, her heart swelled at his consideration, his desire to not cause her any pain whatsoever making him hold back.

After several more thrusts, he was completely inside her and he paused again, making Penny groan in delight at the feeling of being so stretched out. Again, she couldn't believe the luck she had when she found and fell in love with a man like Leonard, who was such an amazing lover while at the same time having as his first and foremost goal to give her pleasure.

Kurt had been the exact opposite. During sex he only sought his own release and never cared if she had an orgasm or not. Depending on his daily mood, he sometimes had been done in two minutes, leaving her on the bed craving for more while he either fell asleep or went back outside to watch TV or drink beer with his buddies.

But not Leonard. She couldn't for the life of her think of one time they had sex where she didn't have an orgasm. Come to think of it, the number of times she only had one single orgasm before his own release could be counted on one hand. She had never understood why he was so determined to give her pleasure until she met his mother. But thinking about the things he did to her, it was hard to feel bad that he was so eager to please her.

After a minute of simply enjoying him buried inside her, she used her feet to gently hit his ass so he would start moving. He started pulling out slowly and pushed back inside, stretching her again. Another nudge made him speed up slightly and she was almost frustrated at his caution.

Despite her giving him assurances, he still wouldn't go as fast as she liked until she had enough. She took one of her legs away from his ass and stretched it, using her other leg to flip them around so she was on top of him.

“I feel okay Leonard, no need to treat me like I'm made of cotton.” she explained after seeing his confused look, although she could swear that he tried his utmost not to grin smugly, as if he had planned to get her frustrated enough to get on top.

She started gyrating forward and backward, reveling in the feeling that was causing inside her. She grabbed his hands that were on her hips and intertwined their fingers, holding them tightly as she rode him. Her eyes never left his and the look she saw on his face was one of unconditional love and it made her wonder why he wouldn't say it to her. But it also strengthened her conviction that their anniversary was the day she would tell him, no matter how hard her brain wanted to stop her.

As Penny sped up, she put his hands on her breasts, giggling as he flicked his fingers over her hard nipples. She put her hands on his chest and sped up, mixing her straight movements with some sideways gyrating and enjoying his moans as his cock moved against her tight walls. She squeezed her inner muscles a few times, knowing he loved that and started a slight bouncing movement to give him the sight he craved most of her breasts bouncing up and down, if ever so slightly.

Since there was not that much fast movement, Leonard was able to hold out for a comparatively long time but after almost thirty minutes of riding him slowly, she had enough and needed more friction. To speed up her own climax, she rode him faster but still timid to prevent any pain from her sore internal nether area. He seemed to sense her predicament and decided to help her along.

As soon as his fingers started to rub against her clit, Penny seized up and shattered on him, her climax incredibly hard and long after such a long build-up. She almost keened as if a scream or a yell of pleasure wasn't nearly enough to express what she was feeling right now since it took more than two minutes for her legs to stop quivering. She had always scoffed when she read things and the authors described something like an earth-shattering orgasm but after what she just experienced, she could finally understand what that meant.

“Jesus Christ, I died and went to heaven.” Penny panted as she pressed herself to his chest.

“Really? Granted, I managed to hold out for a while but I was under the impression that the slow speed wasn't that helpful.”

“Are you kidding? I feel like someone has replaced my legs with jello.”

“Then my job is done.” Leonard quipped. “Come on, lets get cleaned up and then we can go to sleep. I need to get up early tomorrow to help Howard move.”

“Don't remind me of him moving into this building. I'm more and more inclined to stick my head into the oven and turn on the gas.”

“Really? That just gives me the chance to fuck you from behind before pulling you out of there.” he grinned.

“Leonard!” she slapped him on the arm but couldn't help but grin herself.

“Hey, you said I shouldn't be politically correct all the time.”

They went into the bathroom and Penny wondered at Leonard's willingness to stand naked beside her and clean himself up using sponges and water while unwilling to do his ablutions with her in the room. Since they didn't need to brush their teeth again, they went back into the bedroom and got into the same position they had before their lovemaking with Penny pressed into his chest with his arm around her waist. She soon was asleep, her dreams plagued by a persistent cockroach following her around with a face like a certain engineer she knew.

* * *

Penny woke up to and Leonard-less bed and immediately felt colder than usual when waking up in her bed. For a second she wondered where he was but then remembered that the guys were supposed to help Howard move. She dragged herself out of the bed and freshened up in the bathroom before putting on her violet underwear and going to the kitchen to make herself some coffee.

As the black liquid was brewing, she looked around to find something to wear but everything she had for everyday use was in her laundry baskets. Not knowing what else to do, she donned some gray sweatpants and her old Hillary for President shirt. In her tiredness she even put on the boxers Leonard had given her to wear over her sweatpants but before she could take them off again, her coffee machine finished and all her thoughts were on the invigorating drink waiting for her in the kitchen.

After she had drunk the coffee and ate the two bear claws Leonard had left for her, her phone rang. She grabbed it and saw the face of her sweetie appear on the screen. Any good mood resulting from that was soured by the knowledge where he was and what he was doing right now.

“Hey.” she greeted him deflated.

“Hey, Penny. Good news, you can take your head out of the oven.” came from the other end of line.

“What do you mean?” she asked and sat straight up, her mood improving immediately.

“We overheard Howard and his mom arguing back and forth about him moving out and to punish her, he decided to stay with her. So, Howard won't be living above us.”

“That's so great. If you were here, we could celebrate naked.” she giggled.

“And risk another day of soreness?”

“Screw soreness, I'm happy.” she grinned.

“Okay, we're heading back. Sheldon wants to stop by the comic book store on the way home so it might take an hour or two.”

“See you then.” Penny said and ended the call.

She happily sank back into her couch and sighed in joy. Howard wouldn't live above them and she wouldn't have to worry about him listening on her wall or door during the night to her and Leonard's amorous activities. She had no idea who would move in there now but anyone was better than Howard.

She got up and grabbed one of her laundry baskets, skipping down the stairs to the laundry room and putting her laundry into one of the machine before adding detergent and starting it. She returned to her apartment and for lack of something better to do, which included her boyfriend, her bed and no clothes, she decided to watch a few more episodes of Friends until her laundry was done.

* * *

Penny had ignored the oven timer, when it had signaled her that her laundry was done, to finish watching the current episode but her lack of concentration meant that she finished watching the entire DVD before she realized that her laundry was still downstairs in the laundry room. With a curse she got up and opened her apartment door to find herself face to face with a rather tall woman followed by Sheldon and a big cardboard box with legs between them.

“Oh, hey guys.” she greeted them, knowing who was holding the box.

“Hey, Penny. this is Alicia, our new neighbor.” Leonard's voice explained.

“Hi.” Penny greeted their new neighbor.

“Hi.” Alicia greeted her back.

“I offered to help but why I suddenly carry the largest box I really don't know.” Leonard said, his voice straining with the weight he was holding.

“Why did you take it?” Penny asked.

“He's the muscle of our group, why wouldn't he take it?” Sheldon rhetorically asked. “Alicia’s non-musical, childless and pro-rug. She’s still on probation, of course, but I like her.”

“Cool t-shirt.” Alicia commented to Penny, who still was in her last clean clothes.

“Oh, yeah, I don’t usually dress like this. I’m going jogging.” Penny tried to explain.

“You don’t jog.” Sheldon commented.

“I can start.” she pointedly replied.

“True, but the more likely explanation for your attire is that you’re out of clean clothes again.” Sheldon countered, making Penny mad for his observational skills.

“Please, you look cute. I’m dressed like a slob today, too.” Alicia said and Penny couldn't believe her, since the woman was dressed in tight-fitting jeans and a shirt that revealed the lack of a bra underneath it.

“If that is dressing like a slob, I'm curious what you wear on a fancy occasion.” Leonard said.

“This one’s a player, huh?” Alicia quietly said to her.

“Oh yeah, be careful.” Penny warned, trying to convey to Alicia that Leonard was hers and hers alone.

“Thanks for the warning.” Alicia replied, apparently getting it but her smile indicated that she misunderstood the warning.

“Can we move this along, my arms are starting to shake.” Leonard said.

“I’ll see you around.” Alicia stated and walked up the stairs, Leonard in tow, making Penny extremely jealous.

“See ya.” Penny smiled sweetly until Alicia was around the corner. “I’m dressed like a slob today, too.” she repeated in a high pitched version of Alicia's voice.

“Oh, mimicry. I enjoy mimicry.” Sheldon said. “I’ve been working on Admiral Ackbar from Return of the Jedi. “It’s a trap.” You have to imagine me with a giant squid head.” he said and Penny simply shook her head and went downstairs.

Once back in the laundry room, she took her clothes out of the machine and put them into the dryer, activating it before walking back up. She tried to distract herself with more Friends episodes but she ended up walking creases into her floor with all her pacing, her mind conjuring up images of finding Alicia naked on top of Leonard, in the throes of an orgasm that only Leonard could give but nobody deserved except for Penny.

She wanted to go up there to check if something was happening but two things stopped her. One, she looked like a slob in her old clothes and the most important reason, she trusted Leonard not to do anything. As soon her her oven timer signaled again that the dryers were done, she hurried downstairs and got her laundry, choosing to fold it inside her apartment.

She hurried back into her place and grabbed a pair of red pants and a flower-y top from the pile and changed out of her old clothes before putting the new ones on. She looked into her mirror to see if anything is awry but couldn't find a flaw in her clothing, the visible bra should show Leonard what kind of underwear she had on underneath. She looked at her laptop and saw the box with the printer she had gotten a few days ago but although Leonard had promised to set it up for her, he still hadn't done it. Granted, the reason he hasn't yet was mostly because of her, as she had dragged him to bed once he came back from his trip and Sheldon hadn't disturbed them.

She went out into the hallway to go to Leonard's apartment, to show him she still existed and that she wanted to spend time with him, no matter what kind of beautiful woman had moved in above. But she shouldn't be concerned, should she? Leonard wouldn't do anything, but would Alicia? Before her mind could go into an even darker area, she opened the door to find Sheldon on the couch, writing stuff in the air.

“Hey.” she greeted him.

“Congratulations, I see you did your laundry.” the lanky physicist commented.

“Yeah, part of it. Is Leonard around?”

“He’s upstairs at Alicia’s.” Sheldon replied and Penny's heart sank.

“Oh. all right, that’s cool, no biggie. He said he’d help me set up my printer, but I guess I can wait.” she said. “What exactly is he doing up there?”

“In what I can only perceive as a tactical move to destroy me, he is with Wolowitz and Koothrappali setting up her stereo.”

“Oh, they’re all up there, huh? Hmm, typical.” she said, her disappointment in Leonard being still up there softened by the fact that he at least wasn't alone with her.

“It’s axiomatically atypical. Up until recently, they did not know Alicia, and had no encounters with her in a previous location. They never went upstairs to visit the former tenants, so your characterization of their behavior as typical is demonstrably fallacious.”

“Okay, now I see the giant squid head.” she quipped and headed back outside. Sheldon again didn't get why she was disappointed.

As Penny walked back into her apartment, an idea formed inside her head to show Alicia that she was good-looking too and of course to show Leonard what was waiting for him. She rummaged in her closet and found a blue dress that reached her thighs and accentuated her breasts. She took off all her clothes except the violet thong and put it on, straightening it out and optimizing the presentation of her cleavage.

She grabbed a magazine that she had a physicist joke in and started memorizing it as she took the hair straightener and some more products and fixed up her hair and make-up until she was finally pleased with her appearance, although she looked like she was about to go out on a hot date. As a last step, she put one of her yellow Penny blossoms into her hair and grabbed a bottle of wine before heading out into the hallway and up the stairs. Before she reached the open door, she heard Howard and Alicia talking.

“Hello.” she greeted the people in the room, enjoying the look from Leonard, who was squatting at a shelf and tweaking what looked like some electronic device.

“Oh, hey.” Alicia greeted her back and approached her.

“I just wanted to bring you a little housewarming gift.” Penny said and handed her the bottle of wine.

“That is so sweet. Come on in, let’s open it.” Alicia said and walked away from her, making Penny follow. “Nice dress.”

“Oh, this? I’m dressed like a slob today.” Penny quipped, trying to sound nonchalant while swinging her hips seductively, hoping Leonard would be watching her.

“The guys have been helping me set up my sound system. I’ve never had such good-looking technical support.”

“Hey Penny, guess what Alicia is an actress, just like you.” Leonard said, approaching them with the device he was working on.

“That is so awesome.” Penny returned with a voice laced with sarcasm.

“Well, trying to be, but it’s so hard.” Alicia said.

“Yeah, I know, tell me about it.” Penny replied, finally finding someone who knew what she was going through.

“I’ve been out here three months, and all I’ve gotten is a couple of national commercials and this recurring thing on a soap.” Alicia stated, making Penny's jaw hit the floor. That bitch had been here for a cup of coffee and had a lot more success than Penny had in a year and a half.

“That’s why I work at the Cheesecake Factory, I’m holding out for the right part.” Penny said, trying to remain calm about the whole thing and not burst into tears.

“Alicia, what do you want as your default setting for DVDs, 5.1 Dolby or DTS?” Leonard asked.

“Whatever you think is best, cutie.” the woman replied.

_'Cutie? CUTIE?'_ Penny thought and did her utmost not to throw the wine bottle at that woman.

“Well, DTS has more low end, so…”

“Then just do it.”

“Okay.”

“Uh, hey guys, you will really appreciate this.” Penny said, remembering her plan. “I read the best science joke on the internet. Alicia, you won’t get it, but it’s right up their alley. Anyway, so, this physicist goes into an ice cream parlor every week and orders an ice cream sundae for himself, and then offers one to the empty stool sitting next to him. This goes on for a while until the owner finally asks him what he’s doing. The man says, “well, I’m a physicist, and quantum mechanics teaches us that it is possible for the matter above this stool to spontaneously turn into a beautiful woman who might accept my offer and fall in love with me.” The owner then says, “well, lots of single, beautiful women come in here every day, why don’t you buy an ice cream for one of them, and they might fall in love with you?” And the physicist says, “yeah, but what are the odds of that happening?”” she finished, waiting for the laughs.

“It’s a little insulting, don’t you think?” Leonard asked, getting it.

“How would I know? I’m not even sure I get it.” Penny admitted deflated.

“Hey, Leonard? If you’re done with the DVD player, can you set up my printer?” Alicia asked.

“Uh, sure, as long as I'm here.”

“Uh, hey, maybe when you’re done with her printer, you could set up mine. You know, like you promised.” Penny said.

“Yeah, I’ll get to it, if we're not... you know.” he winked at her.

“Hello there.” Raj said after he took a swig of the wine.

“Hey. So you can talk.” Alicia said.

“Yes, of course I can. I'm Rajesh by the way. Now that we have those pesky introduction out of the way, why don't we get more acquainted in a hot tub.” Raj said and Penny decided that it was too much to bear and left.

She headed back down to her floor and went directly into Leonard's apartment, finding Sheldon still sitting on the couch in his beloved spot, watching TV. Without further comment, she walked to the sofa herself and collapsed in it.

“Who is it? Oh hello, Penny, it’s open, come in.” Sheldon said, making her look at him. “Sarcasm.”

“Well, they’re all still up there.” she said.

“You think I can’t hear them? Listen to that. Stomp, stomp, stomp. That’s Wolowitz in his stacked heels that fool no one.”

“I don’t even know why I care. I don’t care. All right, I cared enough to memorize that stupid joke, but that’s all I care.” she stated. _'Who am I kidding. I care because the man I love is upstairs with a woman I swear looks at him with more than just curiosity.'_

“You know, Penny, there’s something that occurs in beehives you might find interesting. Occasionally, a new queen will arrive while the old queen is still in power. When this happens, the old queen must either locate to a new hive or engage in a battle to the death until only one queen remains.” Sheldon said.

“What are you saying, that I’m threatened by Alicia? That I’m like the old queen of the hive and it’s just time for me to go?”

“I’m just talking about bees. They’re on the discovery channel.” he stuttered, pointing at the TV. “What are you talking about?”

“Bees.” she replied slowly. “Oh. I just got that physicist joke.”

Since Sheldon wasn't exactly comforting conversation material, she went back into her own apartment and changed out of the dress into some more comfortable clothes. She also discarded the flower barrette and combed the product out of her hair.

While she put the next Friends DVD into her player and started it, she thought about a way to get the guys back into her corner. Since the quickest way to a man's heart was through his ribcage, buying them guns might do the trick but she reckoned that these guys were better receptive to the next best thing, which was food. Also, the process of buying guns took a few days and she wouldn't be able to do it in secret.

After watching the entire third season of Friends, even tearing up during the scene of Ross and Rachel's break-up, not because of its sadness factor but because she thought about her and Leonard doing that, it was time to leave and get the food before one of them went himself.

She got into her car and drove to the Korean supermarket on the way, buying the hot mustard and low-sodium soy sauce Sheldon preferred and always demanded from Leonard before heading towards the restaurant where she placed the orders, stressing that the chicken be sliced and not shredded and the rice be brown and not white. It took almost twenty minutes for the cook to finish them, after which she paid and drove back to the apartment, walking up the stairs and entering the guys' apartment without knocking.

“I brought food.” she proclaimed, finding the guys on the couch and Leonard standing in the kitchen.

“Thanks for buying us dinner.” Leonard said, coming to the table with a bottle of water.

“Yeah, what’s the occasion?” Howard asked suspicious.

“No, no occasion, just felt like getting some Chinese chow for my peeps.” she replied.

“Did you remember to ask for the chicken with broccoli to be diced, not shredded even though the menu description specifies shredded?” Sheldon asked.

“Yes.” she replied.

“Brown rice, not white?”

“Yes.”

“You stop at the Korean grocery and get the good hot mustard?”

“Yes.”

“Did you pick up the low-sodium soy sauce from the market?”

“Yes”

“Good. See how it’s done, Leonard?” Sheldon admonished to his roommate and Penny felt strangely proud.

“So, what do we got going on tonight, huh?” she asked around. “Playing Halo, watching Battlestar, drop some mentos in diet coke?”

“You want to watch Battlestar?” Leonard asked incredulous.

“What can I say? I got my geek on, boys.” she fake grinned.

“No, PMS is different.” Howard said to Raj after the Indian whispered something in his ear. Just then, a knock was heard on the door and Leonard got up to answer it.

“Oh, thank God you’re home. I need help.” Alicia, who was on the other side, frantically said.

“What’s wrong?” Leonard asked her.

“I just got a callback to audition for CSI to play a hooker who gets killed but my car is in the shop, and I have to be at Universal in forty-five minutes.” Alicia pleaded, making Penny angry at asking her boyfriend and also because that bitch got a callback for a network TV show.

“Well, good luck?” Leonard asked, wondering what the emergency was.

“Come on, I need a driver.” Alicia said and grabbed Leonard's arm, pulling him out of the apartment and down the stairs.

“I’ll run lines with you in the car.” Howard said and followed them, Raj in tow.

“Great. And afterward, I’ll take you all out for Chinese.” Penny heard Alicia say from the hallway.

“Oh, actually, that’s okay. we already have…” Penny started but the door closed before she could finish the sentence. “…Chinese food right here.”

“They’re gone, Penny. They can’t hear you.” Sheldon commented after she had finished the sentence.

“I cannot believe they’re letting her just use them like that. I mean, anything she wants, they go panting after her like trained dogs.”

“Leonard didn't, she dragged him away and even I saw the reluctance in his posture.”

“Still, what's next? Making them drive her to, I don't know, Canada to pick up a TV set?”

“You once had Leonard get your television from your ex-boyfriend, which almost cost him his job.” Sheldon stated, making Penny blush, both at the memory of the return and also of the reward she had given him.

“Apples and oranges here, Sheldon.” she countered. “I’m telling you, that girl is a user, ice skating through the life on her looks, taking advantage of innocent weak-willed men, getting auditions for stupid network shows. It creams my corn.” she said, not even realizing that she had been the same person before she had met Leonard.

“May I interject something here?” Sheldon interrupted.

“Please.” she replied, hoping for some wisdom.

“You got the wrong mustard.” came his injection.

“Seriously? That's what you focus on here? Sheldon, my life is in upheaval because of a slut that has moved in above you.”

“I don't see why the fact that a strange woman shows a possible romantic interest in Leonard is more important that you brought the wrong mustard even though I thought you had learned enough in those eighteen months you have been eating dinner with us.”

“Wait, romantic interest in Leonard?” she asked, shocked. “How would you know about that?”

“It's the only logical conclusion. She won't be interested in Koothrapali since he can't talk to her and anything coming out of Howard's mouth is construed by women to be insulting. So, the only person left for her in our group to develop romantic feelings for is Leonard. That of course is based on the assumption that Alicia is in fact straight. If not, she might use them to get closer to you, since you are part of our group.”

“No, she's just using them.” Penny said in a low voice, her thoughts swirling around the possibility of Sheldon being right and that woman actively trying to take her boyfriend away.

“If you're not going to eat, you could leave.” Sheldon suggested when Penny had set in the armchair for five minutes without moving.

“Fine.” she huffed and got up, taking all the food on the table and even Sheldon's out of his hand.

“Hey, that's my food.”

“No, I paid for it and you haven't reimbursed me yet, so it's mine.”

“Jeez, and here I thought you wanted to do us a favor.” Sheldon huffed and dug some bills from his pocket, throwing them on the table and reclaiming his food container from her.

Penny grabbed the money and shoved it into her pocket before heading out and into her own apartment. She put most of the food into the fridge and continued eating her own, sitting on the couch and thinking about what happened today.

She needed to have a real talk with Leonard about boundaries, what was appropriate for him to do for other people, especially women. While she was pretty sure that Leonard didn't have any feelings for Alicia apart from the usual male lust at seeing a female body, the fact that he does things for her like setting up her stereo or printer, or driving her to an audition, set a precedent Penny wasn't comfortable with.

On the other hand, now she realized how it must have looked for him when Penny went with Dave on his motorcycle without a second thought, and in her case she did it willingly, Dave didn't pull her away. Leonard was a nice guy and he usually did stuff for others if they asked but to Penny, it was a bit too much, especially when the woman in question appeared to be more successful in the same profession.

After finishing her food, she tried to distract herself with watching a few movies while waiting for Leonard to return but after a few hours, she got too tired and went to bed. Hopefully, tomorrow she could have that talk with Leonard to see where he stands on the issue and why he went along instead of saying no.

* * *

After getting up at nine in the morning, Penny drank her usual two cups of coffee and ate a few pieces of toast she had found in her cupboard. She thought about going to Leonard but he was probably at work on one of his still ongoing half-days. She looked around her apartment and saw her remaining laundry basket filled with her shirts and few sweaters.

Instead of taking them, she flopped down onto her couch and started up the TV, zapping through the programs, watching stuff she likes and stuff she usually just skips over and landing on an old Star Trek episode she only stopped to watch because she saw a young Leonard Nimoy, remembering him from the Cheesecake Factory when she had asked for the autograph for Sheldon.

Before she knew it, she had watched the entire episode plus the seven following ones, cursing her curiosity of the stuff Leonard got so excited about and getting up to finally do her remaining laundry, even though it was already dinner time and her stomach reminded her loudly that she had missed lunch.

She grabbed a magazine and the basket and headed downstairs to the laundry room, choosing to stay down there and wait for her laundry to finish because if she went back into her apartment, she knew that she'd probably forget to get it back again. And since the articles were rather interesting, the time between her laundry first finishing and then drying flew by faster than she could have imagined. While she was folding her clothes, she heard a voice of a person she really didn't want to meet now.

“Hi.” Alicia's voice greeted her before the owner of it walked past behind her with a laundry basket in her hand.

“Hi.” Penny greeted back, already fed up with that woman.

“Guess what? I got the part on CSI.” Alicia said proudly, making Penny hate her even more.

“Oh boy.” Penny threw out sarcastically.

“Something wrong?”

_'As if you don't know.'_ Penny thought, “Uh, no. You know, congratulations, I think you’ll make a great hooker.”

“Thank you. Hey, I got to ask you something, how much do experimental physicists make?” Alicia asked.

“Enough to take you on romantic weekends or buy you incredibly shoes.” Penny replied dreamily without even thinking about what Alicia's question signified.

“Really? That's good to know, even though he's not my type. Well, got to run, I got the guys to set up my satellite dish and paint my bedroom. Yay!”

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” Penny stopped her.

“About what?”

“Well, you know, it’s just that Leonard and Howard and Raj, they aren’t like other guys. They’re special. Leonard especially.”

“Okay, and?”

“Oh, let’s see, how can I explain this, um, they don’t know how to use their shields.” she said, involuntarily using a Star Trek reference.

“Shields?”

“Yeah, you know, like in Star Trek, when you’re in battle and you raise the shields?” she explained and turned her head, wondering why she even knew where that reference came from before realizing that she had binge watched almost seven hours of Star Trek today. “Anyway, you know how guys like this are, so, please don’t take advantage of them.”

“Who says I’m taking advantage of them?” Alicia asked.

“Come on, they’re doing everything for you, because you’re leading them on.” Penny told her.

“So I let them do stuff for me. They’re happy. I get stuff. Who cares? And how’s it any different from what you do?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve seen you around them. Are you pretending like you don’t do the exact same thing?”

“There is a big difference between me and you and our behavior towards the guys.”

“And what would that be? Howard told me that Leonard does pretty much anything you ask him for.” Alicia said and crossed her arms.

“Well, for one thing, Leonard is simply too nice to say no. And more importantly, me and Leonard are a couple. So yeah, he does things for me when I ask because I do things for him when he asks me.”

“Oh really?” Alicia asked doubtfully, infuriating Penny even more. “Then why hasn't he said anything.”

“Because we don't shout it from the rooftops and before you ask, we have a reason for that and we came up with it together.”

“Even if I choose to believe you, if I want to make a move on Leonard, there's nothing you can do about it.”

“Okay lady, you are way out of line.” Penny threatened.

“Well, what are you going to do about it, bitch?” Alicia asked, squinting her eyes and Penny finally saw red.

The next thing she knew, her fist had connected with Alicia's chin and the taller woman was staggering backwards until she hit the wall next to the door. Penny followed up, ready to punch her again but Alicia put up her leg and stopped her short with a kick into her stomach which made Penny double over.

Alicia moved outside the room but Penny followed her, not wanting her to get away after more or less promising to try to seduce her boyfriend. She grabbed her from behind and shoved her forward . Alicia turned around and grabbed Penny's arms to stop her from hitting her again but Penny fought back as hard as she could, trying to get a few more blows into the body of that skank.

As their hands connected and fought for dominance, both holding the others so none would be able to punch or scratch, Penny's push made them both bump into the table below the mailboxes. The sudden change in trajectory had them land on the floor where they continued to roll around, their battle for dominance unending.

When Penny was underneath Alicia, she heard the voice of Howard yelling out the words girl fight, which made her look to them and saw him holding Leonard by the arms and knowing Howard, it was probably to prevent her boyfriend from interfering, since Howard was a creep and loved to watch women fight.

That brief lapse in concentration however was enough for Alicia to free one of her hands and before Penny could react, Alicia's fist connected to her mouth and split her lower lip before it connected again to her upper left cheek, snapping her head around. Leonard seemed to have finally gotten out of Howard's grasp because before she could hit Alicia back, the woman was thrown backwards by him.

“That's it, I'm out of here. I have better things to do than beat the crap out of you, bitch.” Alicia yelled and ran up the stairs.

Leonard helped Penny up and helped her up the stairs while she felt her face burning both from the shame of actually getting into a physical confrontation and the pain in those areas Alicia had hit. She tried to ignore Howard's comments about how hot that was until they had finally reached their floor.

Leonard accompanied her into her apartment while the others went into 4A and she sat down on her couch. Without saying anything, Leonard grabbed some ice cubes from her freezer and wrapped them into a piece of cloth before putting a towel around the pack and handing it to Penny.

“Thank you.” she said and held the ice to the side of her face.

“Care to tell me what that fight was about?” he asked and Penny warred with herself if she should tell him the truth or not. If she told him that Alicia had apparently real interest in him, he might leave her to be with that infuriating woman.

“It was the culmination of everything.” Penny said, truthful enough. “When she shoved her success about getting that part for CSI in my face, I saw red. A part she got because you drove her, I might add.” she said accusingly.

“Yeah, sorry about that. One moment she's asking me, the next thing I knew she pulled me down the stairs with Howard and Raj behind us, pushing me along.”

“I know. I saw that.” Penny said and glared at him. “You could have called.”

“Not when my phone was still in the apartment. I wanted to come back as soon as we dropped her off but Howard and Raj insisted on waiting for her.”

“But you didn't come back for hours.”

“Because we had to take Howard's car after he had blocked mine. So he was the one calling the shots about coming back. And since I didn't even have my wallet with me, I couldn't call a cab.”

“But did you really wait for hours? Auditions don't usually take that long. What was she doing there?”

“Yeah. I mean, I kinda figured it out once she came out with that guy, her hair messed up and with that face that said she had had sex a few minutes ago but Howard and Raj didn't pick up on it and let her take them to dinner.”

“Did you eat too?” she asked him with sad eyes.

“Well, yeah. I mean, I was hungry and I didn't know what you did with the food you brought us. So I ordered something expensive, since she paid.”

“Okay.” Penny said dejected. “Will you really paint her bedroom?”

“No way. Let Howard and Raj do it if they think it's worth it to paint a room that will be used by her to sleep with that guy she came out the studio with.” Leonard stated. “As for me, why would I help someone who hit my girlfriend.”

“Thank you.” she smiled.

“Hey, you should change and come over. We bought Thai food.”

“Well, I still have the leftovers from yesterday in my fridge but it tastes better when fresh.” she said. “But why do I have to change?”

“You got blood on your top from your lip.”

“Oh crap, I need to soak this or the stain won't come out.” Penny said and ran into her bathroom, taking off the top and throwing it into the sink before filling it with water and detergent.

Leonard came in behind her and gave an appreciative whistle at the sight of her violet bra, knowing what she wore under her pants. She smiled at him, wincing when she felt the pain of her lower lip, but wiggled her ass for him before pushing him out of the bathroom so she could leave it as well.

She grabbed a lime green top and a striped sweater, shoving them on and looking at herself in the mirror, cursing when she saw the dark blue around her left eye and her lip, a testament to the strength of the blow she had received from Alicia.

With Leonard in front of her, she walked out of her apartment and followed him into his before sitting down in his armchair. She grabbed the food they got for her and started eating, wincing again as the sauce hit the wound on her lip, making it sting.

“May I say you look very comely tonight?” Howard said to her.

“Thank you.” she replied, not feeling snippy enough to give him a sharp retort.

“You’re right, this filly’s been broken.” Howard told Raj but before she could say anything about it, they heard deep bass music coming from the apartment above them as Leonard handed her a bottle of water which she thanked him for by giving him a grateful smile as wide as her lip allowed.

“You set it on DTS, didn’t you?” Sheldon said accusingly to Leonard.

“I had to, she decided on it.”

“According to Alicia’s facebook page, she’s hooking up with one of the producers on CSI.” Howard clarified about who the guy was she had slept with during or after her audition.

“Well, dead whore on TV, live one in real life.” Penny quipped to the laughter of Leonard before a loud squeaking became audible from above.

“Oh, great now she’s jumping up and down on the bed.” Sheldon commented.

“Wow.” Penny mouthed silently to Leonard at Sheldon's show of equal innocence and ignorance.

The squeaking stopped after about ten minutes, making Penny feel smug knowing that her own bed wouldn't stop squeaking after only ten minutes when she was having sex with Leonard, if you count out the first time after a multiple-week long dry spell.

On the other hand, now Penny knew what the poor old lady living in the apartment below her must feel like when Leonard spends the nights in her bed. She knew that her springs squeaked too and all the times she forgot to pull the bed away from the wall, it hammered even louder, especially when Penny got too wild and rode him with abandon. Not to mention the yelling.

“I don't believe her.” Howard yelled. “First she makes all those innuendos towards us and now she's shacking up with her producer?”

“Howard, you never had a chance with her.” Leonard objected.

“Oh, and you did?” the engineer shot back, clearly unaware of the things Alicia had told Penny.

“No, and I never had any inkling that she did.”

“Then why did you agree to paint her bedroom?”

“I didn't. You and Raj did. I told her I wouldn't be doing it, especially not if we had to buy the color ourselves.”

“I will tell you this, after we paint her room, I will never do things for her again.” Howard stated.

“Okay, I'm heading out.” Penny threw in. “Before I have to punch Howard to make him understand that he shouldn't paint her bedroom at all.”

She got up and walked towards the door with her food in hand while Howard and Raj argued loudly with each other, the Indian apparently having forgotten that she was still inside the room. As she reached the door, she felt Leonard's hand on her arm and turned around.

“Penny, we have our anniversary in two weeks.” Leonard said quietly. “Please don't get into another fight. It would make me look like someone who beats up his girlfriend if we show up someplace with you looking like this.” he grinned.

“I won't.” she agreed. “Bye you.”

She gave him a peck on the lips and left him standing there and after he had closed the door and she was opening hers, she realized that she had just kissed him with no regards to the other guys. On the other hand, now they maybe finally know about them, which would be okay since they could do some public display's of affection, on the other hand, them knowing did take a component out of their relationship, since messing around with the guys was still a fun thing for her to do.

As she sat down on her couch, wondering about that stuff, she giggled at the prospect of their anniversary coming up. In two weeks, the day would arrive that marked one year of mostly happiness and hopefully it would also begin a new era where he knew that she loved him and she hopefully knew that he loved her back. She had already taken the weekend off so nothing on her side would interfere.

Only eleven more days.

* * *

**And done. And from this point on, I'm discontinuing the story. No more chapters.**

**Just kidding :-p**

**But seriously, I know that (hopefully) a lot of the readers wait restlessly for Chapter 30 but since my shoulder is mostly healed, I'm going back to work. But nice guy that my boss is, he dropped the afternoon shifts into my lap, which means I'm heading to work before lunch and am back after eight in the evening. And usually, I like to turn on my computer, put in a movie and putting my feet up and relax with a beer.**

**But hey, if a lot of people review, I might be convinced to sacrifice my two hours after work before bed to write :D**

**Review please :)**


	30. Chapter 30

**And here is number 30. I think, a few of you waited for this one, biting your nails to the root and fidgeting in your seat ^^. But I probably set the bar so high, that quite a few of you might find it disappointing. But I hope you still like it anyway :)**

**Side note: To the guest who said something about the timeline issue, I know that it was off. It wasn't the first time, I play with the timeline all the time (pun intended) ^^. But I take creative freedom with it. In the TV episode, Alicia lived in that apartment for several weeks, Penny even mentioned it.**

**Still, enjoy this one :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the franchise. I write here only for my own pleasure and that of others who read the story and I don't make any money. Any similarities to song titles or lyrics are absolutely coincidental and unintended. Some dialog is verbatim from different episodes and are there to keep the story going.**

**Disclaimer2: I name Meryl again, thank you TerribleWaitress ;)**

* * *

 

Finally. She had finally managed the ten days of working extra hours so she could have the entire weekend off. But today was Thursday afternoon and and this hour tomorrow, she would be, hopefully, be somewhere else, either lying on a lounging chair and relax or lying below Leonard and receive a completely different kind of relaxation. Her anxiety seemed to be evident because the next thing she knew was a known, female voice interrupting her thoughts.

“Holy cow, what's going on with you?” Cheryl asked her, as Penny kept looking at the clock.

“I want to go home.” Penny replied.

“I thought you had the weekend off?”

“I do, that's why I want to go. I need to pack.”

“Oh, going somewhere?” Cheryl asked.

“Yes, it's my and Leonard's one-year anniversary. And he said I should pack for a weekend trip.” Penny told her.

“I'm so jealous. Where is he taking you?”

“I don't know, it's a surprise.”

“Well, one more hour and you're free to go.” Cheryl grinned and went back to work.

Penny followed her and kept waiting tables and collecting tips, some of the customers wondering if something was wrong with her. But even as the clock seemed to stand still, somehow Penny made it to six o'clock and as soon as the her last table was done, she hurried out of the Cheesecake Factory and jumped into her car, driving home.

She parked her car in front of the apartment block and went inside, directly going up the stairs. As soon as she reached the fourth floor, the door to her neighbors apartment opened and the group came out.

“Oh hey, guys, where are you headed?” she asked them.

“To the comic book store.” Sheldon replied for the group. “You’re probably thinking, the comic book store? On a Thursday? Why, I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole and into a land of madness. What you have failed to take into account, Penny, is that this is Anything Can Happen Thursday.”

“You got me.” she coddled him. “While you’re there, could pick me up a few comics for my cousin’s birthday?”

“I think you mean comic books. Comics are feeble attempts at humor featuring talking babies and anthropomorphized pets found traditionally in the optimistically named funny pages.” Sheldon explained with derision.

“Leonard, could you pick me up a few comics for my cousin’s birthday?” she asked her boyfriend, giving up with Sheldon.

“Sure. What does he like?” her sweetie asked her.

“I don’t know, he’s thirteen. Just pick out anything.”

“Just pick out anything?” Sheldon objected. “Maybe at the same time we can pick out a new suit for him without knowing his size, or pick out his career for him without knowing his aptitude, or pick out a new breakfast cereal without knowing his fiber requirements or his feelings about little marshmallows.”

“Spider-Man. Get him Spider-Man.” Penny tried to stop him.

“Amazing Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, The Marvelous Adventures of Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099?” Sheldon continued.

“Leonard?” she whined, looking for help.

“You know this can go on all night, why don’t you just come with us?” Leonard suggested.

“Ugh, that’s what I was trying to avoid.” she huffed but walked down with them.

“Oh, I forgot Sensational Spider-Man.” Sheldon added as he followed them.

When they got outside again, they all moved towards Leonard's car. Penny, not wanting to be stuck between Howard and Raj on the backseat, quickly ran forward towards the passenger door.

“Shotgun!” she yelled out and waited for Leonard to open the locks.

“You can't call shotgun. I always ride on the passenger seat when being driven by Leonard.” Sheldon objected.

“Well, not today, I called shotgun.” she said defiantly.

“Leonard, tell her.” Sheldon stated, folding his arms.

“Penny, let me open the door for you.” Leonard said and let Penny sit down in the passenger seat. “And you Sheldon, get in the backseat.”

“But Leonard...”

“Sheldon, are you saying that you will deliberately ignore the shotgun rule?”

“Fine.” Sheldon huffed and climbed into the middle of the backseat, throwing evil looks at Penny who sat in the passenger seat with a smug grin on her face.

They drove the short distance to the comic book store and as soon as Leonard had parked the car, the other three guys quickly exit the car, heading towards the comic book store without even waiting for Leonard and Penny. Penny looked at Leonard and leaned over, waiting for him to cover the rest of the distance and pressed a quick but deep kiss on his lips.

“Tomorrow at ten in the morning.” he said grinning. “Be ready.”

“Oh, I am. I just need to pack my bags, using a checklist like you do.”

“I'm impressed.” he quipped and got out of the car, waiting for Penny to get out as well before he could lock the doors.

They approached the other guys who were waiting in front of the comic book store and went inside together. Penny looked around and saw row upon row of shelves filled with comic books of all kind plus about half a dozen other males standing at various points, looking through comic books or at other things.

“Oh, what a cute, little store.” she exclaimed and the sound of her voice, clearly marking her as female, made everyone turn towards her. “Everybody’s staring at me.” she quietly said.

“Don’t worry, they’re more scared of you than you are of them.” Leonard replied, grinning himself.

“Unlikely.” she told him and started perusing through a few choices before grabbing one at random. “Here, what about this one for my cousin?”

“A superb choice.” Sheldon assented.

“Oh, great.” she said, happy to have found something quickly.

“Yeah, provided he has already read Infinite Crisis and 52, and is familiar with the re-establishment of the DC multiverse.” Sheldon added.

“What’s a multiverse?” she asked.

“Get her out of here.” Sheldon said to Leonard.

“Come on, I’ll help you pick something.” Leonard offered her.

“Oh, hey, Leonard. Can I help you find something?” the store owner approached them.

“Oh, hey, Stuart.” Leonard greeted him, bringing a name to the face. “This is Penny. She’s looking for some comic books.”

“Oh, really. Blink twice if you’re here against your will.” Stuart said to her, making her smile.

“I think we’re fine, Stuart.” Leonard told him.

“Let me know if you need anything.” Stuart replied and walked away again.

“Thanks.” Penny said before turning to Leonard. “He seems like a nice guy.”

“You mean for someone who’s into comic books?”

“No, no, no, I just meant for… yeah.”

“Penny, just because people appreciate comic books doesn’t make them weirdos.” Leonard said, making Penny feel guilty, because she loved Leonard even though he is into comic books a lot. “Stuart’s a terrific artist. He went to the Rhode Island School of Design.”

“What about the guy over there in the superhero T-shirt tucked into his sweatpants?”

“Ah, yeah, that’s Captain Sweatpants.” Leonard explained dejected. “He doesn’t really help the point I’m trying to make.”

“What is the point you're trying to make?”

“I have no idea.” he said dejected. “Just that not all people who collect comics are people you have to look strange at.”

“Well, I know that you collect that stuff and the only strange look you get from me is when you pound my g-spot into oblivion over and over again like the energizer bunny.” she quietly said to him and grinned.

“Thanks. But if you really need some unbiased advice on which comic book to buy for your cousin, ask Stuart. Sheldon will only tell you what he should read before and the rest of us have our own favorites, so it won't really be fair.”

“That's a good idea actually.” Penny said and walked over to Stuart. “Excuse me.”

“Hello again.” Stuart said to her, looking up flustered.

“Hi. What would you recommend as a present for a thirteen year-old boy?” she asked him.

“A thirteen year-old girl.” Stuart replied, which made her smile. “But if you’re dead set on a comic book, try this.”

“Oh, Hellblazer.” Penny read the cover of the comic book he handed her. “What’s this about?”

“A morally ambiguous confidence man who smokes, has lung cancer and is tormented by the spirits of the undead.” came the reply.

“Well, if that doesn’t make me the favorite cousin, I don’t know what will.” she said and saw the picture he has drawn, which looked remarkably familiar. “Is this me?”

“Depends. Do you like it?”

“It’s really good.” she commented.

“Yes, that’s you.”

“That’s so sweet, but what if I didn’t like it?”

“It’d still be you, but I’d feel like an idiot.” he said.

“Can I have it?”

“I don't know. It's an original Bloom, so I would need some compensation for it.”

“How much?”

“I can't take money. It's a scribble.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Well...uh.” Stuart stuttered. “Well... I thought...maybe...you could go out with me one day.”

“Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not available. But I could fix you up with one of my colleagues if you like.”

“That... would be acceptable.”

“Okay, I'll give you my number and you call me when you have time for something. Then I can set you up.”

“That's great.” Stuart said as Penny wrote down her phone number while Leonard closed in on her.

“Okay, you’ve got my number, now, give me the picture.” she said, holding up the piece of paper.

“You drive a hard bargain, but here.” Stuart replied and handed her the picture of herself.

“All right. So, um, just give me a call.” Penny said and handed him some money for the Hellblazer comic before heading outside to wait for the guys.

“Penny, what the hell?” Leonard asked her, slightly aggravated after he had followed her outside.

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you give Stuart your number? Are you planning to go out with him?”

“What? No! I mean, he asked me but I said I was unavailable and offered him to fix him up with one of my colleagues.”

“Oh, okay.” Leonard said relieved and fiddled with his fingers.

“Wait, you're jealous.” Penny grinned.

“Of course I am. We're going on our anniversary tomorrow and here I thought you made a date with someone else.”

“Sweetie, I waited for weeks for this day to arrive, I wouldn't do anything to put a kibosh on that.”

“Well, okay then.” Leonard said and grinned as well. “Although the guys think now that you made a date with Stuart and I don't think Stuart will say anything to set them straight.”

“So what? They will find out tomorrow when we go on our trip to...” she said, lifting her eyebrow.

“Nice try.”

“Leonard.” she whined.

“Be patient. Have your bags packed and ready at nine-thirty, I will pick you up then.”

“You're mean, you know that?”

“If you say so. You want to punish me?”

“Depending on where we end up tomorrow, I might.” she said seductively, enjoying the way he swallowed. “By the way, will you sleep at my place tonight?”

“Not tonight. Need to finish some stuff for work tonight so I have all my materials for Monday's budget meeting for next month.”

“Oh, too bad. Would have been nice to rock your world one last night before we're together for one year.” she grinned.

“Don't torture me, woman.” Leonard sighed.

“So, Leonard, how are you enjoying Anything Can Happen Thursday?” Sheldon asked as he and the rest of the guys exited the store.

“Terrific.” Leonard deadpanned.

“I think so too.” Sheldon added, not getting Leonard's sarcasm again. “I got a comic book for my collection, Stuart got a date with Penny. Everybody wins.”

“Lets go home.” Leonard said, entering his car, Penny again on the passenger seat, forcing Sheldon to sit in the back once more, much to his chagrin.

Penny could only shake her head at the guys behind her. One talk with Stuart and they thought she was going on a date with him. She thought of the picture in her handbag that Stuart drew of her and realized that if she and Leonard weren't a couple, she would have probably even agreed to the date. And most likely even slept with him after it since she had been that person before Leonard. 

* * *

 

After receiving a call from Stuart, telling her that he was available whenever the girls was, she called her colleague Silvia to make the date with Stuart and then spent a restless night with little sleep. In the morning, Penny downed her usual two cups of coffee and then got dressed, putting on a thong and foregoing a bra before grabbing a short skirt and a revealing top that she accentuated with a thin jacket. Since the temperatures were going to be in the high nineties today, she didn't worry about freezing.

She looked at the clock and saw that it was still an hour before Leonard would come over. She tried to sit down and read a magazine but soon threw it away again and continued to walk creases into her floor. Her packed bags were sitting in the corner, one with her regular clothes, a few shirts, underwear and everything else for everyday use and a second one in which the dress waited she wanted to wear when she told him her feelings.

With every minute, her anticipation rose to almost unbearable levels. So much, that as soon as the clock struck nine-twenty-eight and she heard the door to Leonard's apartment open, she opened her own to meet him in the hallway. The problem now was, that she was faced not only with an exasperated Leonard carrying two bags, but also a very fretting Sheldon, who hovered around him.

“Leonard, just because Penny is going on an apparent morning date with Stuart and will have coitus with him, given her revealing attire” Sheldon started, with a look at her. “there is no reason for you to leave me alone for the weekend to visit the Babylon 5 convention.”

“Sheldon, I'm going, there is nothing you can do about it.” Leonard replied.

“But Leonard...”

“Sheldon, what makes you think I'm going to sleep with Stuart?” Penny interjected.

“Because you don't wear something like that without plans for doing so. Your promiscuity is well known and I heard you having frequent coitus through the wall when I came up the stairs so the assumption is not far fetched.”

“Sheldon.” she started menacingly. “You just called me a slut. Flee into your apartment or you will have to visit a general surgeon to remove my shoe from your ass.”

Sheldon's eyes widened at her threat, remembering her question after he cleaned her apartment in the night and his subsequent serious answer without understanding her sarcasm until Leonard pointed it out. Luckily he believed her threat and quickly bolted into the apartment, locking the door behind him.

“Thank you.” Leonard said relieved. “And you look amazing.”

“No problem. And thank you.” she replied. “What makes Sheldon think you're going to a Babylon 5 convention?”

“Because we're having a repeat of the Omaha situation, when he thought I went to this week-long experimental physics seminar in Denver while we were visiting your parents. He thinks your date with Stuart upset me so much that I flee to the city of San Francisco for the weekend, since I love the show and there really is a Babylon 5 convention in San Francisco.”

“Okay, and here I thought they knew about us being together since we kissed goodbye after the Alicia incident.”

“Yeah, they didn't see us, they were too busy arguing with each other.”

“Ah, I see. Well, let me get my bags and lets go. I'm so curious about where you are taking me.” she said and attempted to turn around.

“Wait, one thing before you do.” Leonard stopped her.

She looked at him and after a second of wondering why he stopped her, her confusion was cleared when he stepped close to her and kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her tight. She put her arms around his neck and held him tight, opening herself up to his kiss and returning it with equal force.

She moaned when his hands went under her skirt and ran over her bare cheeks, the feeling of his hands making the heat pool in her abdomen. He mirrored her moan upon realizing what she wore underneath the skirt and separated their lips, way too soon for her liking.

“Are you trying to kill me, woman?” Leonard asked. “Wearing a thong under this short skirt.”

“Does it make you want to rip my clothes off and ravish me?” she grinned.

“Oh yes.” he replied and pressed his hips against her, making her feel his appreciable erection against her thigh.

“Well then, how about we go into my place and start the anniversary festivities a day early.” she suggested and cupped him between his legs.

“That does sound great but you better grab your bags while I wait out here.”

“What? Come on, you can't do this to me.” she whined.

“I don't want to but our transportation await.”

“Transportation? Don't we take your car?” she asked.

“No.” he replied.

“Then how do we get to wherever we're going?”

“You'll see. Now come on.”

Penny huffed and grabbed her bags and handbag, putting the latter around her shoulder and carrying the former on her hands while she followed Leonard down the stairs. When they were outside, Leonard turned left and around the corner, away from his car. As soon as they turned the second corner to the back of their block, she saw where they were going.

Waiting against a pretty big SUV was Frank, the herculean student slash bouncer slash friend of Leonard. Penny smiled at him and even wider when she saw the figure of Alice in the backseat, holding their son in her arms.

“Hey Leonard. And Penny.” Frank greeted them, extending his hand that Leonard shook after placing one of his bags on the ground.

“Hey Frank.” both Leonard and Penny said in unison.

“Is that your kid?” Penny asked, pointing at the SUV and Alice.

“Yes, it is.” Frank replied and waved Alice out of it.

As soon as Alice was on the sidewalk, holding her bundle of joy, Penny dropped her bags and ran squealing towards the woman, enveloping her in an awkward hug due to the child between them. She looked at the boy and her eyes went wide at the sight in front of her.

“Wow, he's so... big.” she finally said, her eyes widening.

“Yeah, I got that after they handed him to me once they had cut him out of my uterus.” Alice deadpanned with a smile.

“Seriously, he looks like a two- or even three-year old.” Penny said.

“I know. We were worried at first if that may be a medical problem but the doctor said it's natural because of his genes and not acromegaly.”

“Acro-what?” Penny asked with a confused look.

“Gigantism. Or it's called that when acromegaly occurs in childhood. When it commences in adulthood, it's called acromegaly.”

“And what is that exactly?”

“It's a benign tumor that presses on the pituitary gland, causing it to overproduce growth hormones. That causes the body to grow much bigger than it usually would. The problem is that at one point, the body doesn't grow in height anymore but since the gland is still overproducing growth hormones, everything else still gets bigger. Hands, feet, head, organs, you name it.”

“And how is that treated?”

“They cut open your nose, laser the tumor off, pack fat in there so the bone grows back and close the wound.”

“Ouch. But your little Thomas doesn't have that?”

“No, he doesn't. He simply grows fast. But hey, look at his father.” Alice sighed.

“And you.” Penny replied. “It's not like you are little.”

“I know. But I worry that he grows too tall. Have you seen pictures and videos of really tall people? They can barely walk without crutches.”

“How tall do you think he's gonna get?” Penny asked.

“Well, given that I'm six foot one, and Frank is seven foot two, the doctor calculated that Thomas could grow to any height between seven feet and seven foot seven. Or he stops at six feet, all is possible but it's very unlikely that he stays six feet when he has already reached the average height of a two year old after six months.”

“That must be hell in terms of buying clothes.” Penny mused.

“Tell me about it. Luckily we have extended families with kids who are willing to give us their old kids clothes.”

“Girls, get in the car, we're going.” Frank called from the back of the SUV where he had stowed the bags.

The group filed in, with Alice and Penny sitting in the back and Leonard in the passenger seat, and Frank drove, winding the car down the street to a destination Penny still didn't know.

“So, what is the reason for his car sharing?” Penny asked.

“Nobody answer.” Leonard quickly interrupted anything the other two could say. “It's still a surprise.”

“Leonard.” Penny whined again, making Alice and Frank laugh.

After a fifteen minute drive, they stopped at another apartment block, where an older couple waited and smiled at them. Both Alice and Frank exited the car and went to them, hugging them and talking a while before handing Thomas and a bag to the couple. After a few heartfelt minutes of goodbye, they both got back into the car.

“What was that about?” Penny asked.

“Those are my parents.” Alice replied. “They agreed to watch Thomas for the weekend while we are away.”

“Oh, you guys going somewhere?”

“Yes, the same place as you coincidentally.” Frank said from the front. “That's why we agreed to Leonard's plan.”

“What plan?” Penny asked again.

“You will see in a few minutes.” Leonard grinned and Penny huffed once more, crossing her arms in mock annoyance.

True to Leonard's words, they only drove for another ten minutes before stopping at a nondescript building. Leonard got out and Alice did too, prompting Penny to do the same. Frank also left the car, walking around to the other three and completing the circle.

“Thanks for all of this, Frank.” Leonard said.

“No problem at all. This is way less than what you did for me by telling me about Professor Brinkman.”

“Is that so important to you?” Penny asked. “I'm just curious.”

“Yes, it is. Before this, I only thought to finish my studies, get a degree and become a teacher maybe. Now, I work at the university, I passed my last exam and are in the early stages of getting my doctorate. I'd never have thought about getting a doctorate before and having Professor Brinkman as my thesis adviser is a boon.”

“Well, okay then.” Penny said.

“We'll see you in a few hours.” Alice said and gave Penny a quick hug before getting into the passenger seat that Leonard had vacated.

Frank said his goodbyes as well and got back into the car before driving off. Penny looked after them and then at the building they were standing in front of, wondering what was going on. Before she could ask Leonard, another thought went into her head.

“Leonard! They still have our bags!” she exclaimed shocked.

“I know. They'll bring them to our destination since we can't take them with us.” he replied.

“Why not?”

“Because we're taking another form of transportation.”

“A balloon?” she asked.

“What? No. Something I learned to use all those last few months, every Monday and Thursday.”

“There's something I was wondering and worrying about. I thought at first you were cheating on me.”

“What made you think that?” he asked.

“What else should I think. You sneak away twice a week without telling anyone what you were doing and when I asked you only evaded my question. Only because Kim and Cheryl told me to trust you did I not blow a gasket and demanded an explanation.”

“I'm glad you were able to restrain yourself.” he grinned. “But now, come on, I'll show you.”

He grabbed her hand and led her around the corner and across the street. When Penny saw where they were heading her eyes went wide and her breathing hitched. He couldn't have! Her love for the man rose exponentially at the thought of what he learned to do just for her, especially after learning about it the way he did.

“You see, I was learning to ride one twice a week until I was good enough to handle it for a few hours.” he smiled and led her into the bike shop.

The owner greeted them and Leonard gave him his name to which the owner smiled and led them into the backyard. He opened a shed and pulled out the most magnificent piece of machinery Penny had ever seen.

“This is a modified 2008 Harley Davidson Softail.” the store owner explained. “It has an elevated backseat and both the anti-lock braking system and cruise control from the Touring class. Relatively easy to drive and according to the recommendation letter of your instructor, you learned to drive a Harley with a harder to control machine.”

“Yes, I did.” Leonard confirmed.

“Alright, your identification is in order. Here are the keys, the gas tank is full. The helmets have integrated communications gear, so you can talk with each other over the noise of the engine. ”

“Thank you.” Leonard said and sat on the motorcycle, getting a handle of the powerful machine before he turned to a still stunned Penny. “You coming?”

Penny snapped out of it and went around the machine to swing her leg over the elevated backseat. She deliberately did it so the shop owner wouldn't be able to see her almost non-existent thong under her skirt, which he would have if she got on the bike from the position she had been standing in.

As soon as she was sitting on it, Leonard revved the engine and the vibrations went directly through her thin underwear into her core, making her eyes flutter in delight. When he put his helmet on, she mirrored his action and was momentarily startled by a crackling sound followed by his voice in her ear.

“Can you hear me?” he asked.

“Yes, I can.”

“Good, the speakers work fine then. So, what do you think of my plan so far?”

“Sweetie, this Harley alone makes anything else probably pale in comparison. I was expecting something special but this really takes the cake.”

“So, ready to head out?” he asked and she could hear the grin in his voice.

“Oh yes.”

She wrapped her arms around his upper body and held herself tight to him as he opened the throttle and the bike started moving. As the wind whipped around them, she was glad that it was a warm day today because instead of freezing in the headwind, she felt mellow and became heavily aroused by the ongoing vibrations of the bike. 

* * *

 

After close to ninety minutes of driving with her eyes closed and enjoying the feel of Leonard's body against hers, the vibrations finally snapped her mind. She was so massively aroused that she was sure that a small touch would be enough to shatter her apart. She lifted her head and cleared her throat to get his attention.

“Sweetie?”

“Yeah?” he returned.

“Can you get off the freeway and drive up there to that secluded area?” she asked, pointing to a dirt path going off the road and up a small hill.

“Sure.” Leonard replied, turning the bike and revving it to make the incline, an action that had Penny almost climaxing when it increased the vibrations even more.

They turned into a small clearing surrounded by high shrubs, making them invisible from the road below. Penny went even farther and pointed to an area hidden by small trees that would make them invisible even from people coming into the clearing. At least for a minute or two.

Leonard, thinking that she probably had to pee really bad and didn't want to walk far, followed her directions and slowly drove the bike into the small area she had pointed out. He shut off the engine before extending the kickstand and leaned the bike on it, waiting for Penny to get off.

She did just that and he watched her stand next to him and take off the helmet, shaking out her hair. That moment again showed him that in his eyes, Penny was the most beautiful creature ever to have walked the earth and still couldn't believe that she actually chose him to be her boyfriend. His eyebrows rose when she looked at him and mentioned for him to get up as well.

He followed her command and stood up, taking off his helmet as well and hanging it onto the left handlebar while she simply put hers onto the ground next to the bike. She came back up and wrapped his hands around his neck, pulling him into a deep kiss which he reciprocated after a few second of shock.

He attempted to lean back from the kiss to ask her what was going on but she wouldn't let him. She held him tight to her and aggressively moved her tongue inside his mouth, her hands going under his hoodie and pulling his shirt out of his pants. Unfortunately, oxygen became a necessity that her nose couldn't handle alone so she reluctantly ended the kiss. Leonard looked at her and saw that her eyes were almost black with desire and he felt the blood rush down to his secondary brain, making the primary one very open to any form of compromise to get the blood back.

“Leonard?” she asked after a few breaths. “Remember what I told you would what I'd do if you ever got a Harley?”

“Um, refresh my memory?” he replied, his embarrassment about forgetting it evident in his voice.

“I said back then, if you ever got a Harley, I would have so much sex with you on it.” she said and took his arms off her before walking towards the back of the bike. “And now, my good doctor, you and this bike have made me so wet and horny over the last hour, I need you to fuck me hard.” she continued and bend down, placing her upper body on the seats, the elevation of the backseat making her upper body slant forward which resulted in her ass being the highest body part.

“Oh my lord.” Leonard exclaimed when he lifted Penny's skirt, revealing her barely-there g-string and bare ass cheeks. He ran his hands over her folds, discovering her wetness and pulled the thin strip of fabric aside before dropping his pants and shorts and freeing his straining erection that had developed as soon as she had kissed him.

“Holy fuck!” Penny yelled when Leonard penetrated her, making her feel the extraordinary sensation of him filling her out like only he could.

For a moment she thought she had become a vacuum cleaner because it felt like she was sucking him in. He slid into her without any resistance, her moist center welcoming his manhood eagerly. After a few seconds of simply enjoying the snug embrace, he started pumping his hips, his skin slapping against hers.

“Oh god, yes! Fuck me!” she shouted and Leonard complied, grabbing her hair and pulling her slightly up. His other hand stayed on her hip, holding it tightly and he increased the strength of his thrusts, trying to hit her as deep as possible. His efforts seemed to work as Penny started to loudly moan with every of his thrusts, his tip hitting her g-spot reliably.

“My god Penny, you feel so good.” Leonard panted, feeling her insides contract, the feeling alone indicating her climax even if she hadn't shouted it out.

“Harder! Faster!” she shouted and Leonard tried to comply, increasing his efforts even more.

His manhood felt like being on fire due to the fast friction but the exuberant yells that came out of Penny's mouth kept him going. He felt his own climax approaching rapidly but despite the speed and intensity of his thrusts, he tried to focus on something else than the feeling of her insides around him to prolong it for her.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” Penny shouted, each word coming out in higher and higher pitch until the last was shouted out in another climax. The feeling of her inner walls tightening up in total pleasure did it for him and he released with a loud groan, almost collapsing on top of her but managing to hold himself up by leaning on the bike.

“Wow.” Penny panted. “Just... wow!”

“I know.” Leonard agreed and pulled out before grabbing a box of tissues and taking one for himself and handing Penny another.

“One more thing to cross off the list.” she grinned as she cleaned herself out.

“Is that a real list or do you make it up as you go along?” Leonard asked while pulling his shorts and pants back on.

“It's imaginary. But I do have a few more places I'd like to have sex with you one day.” she replied while putting her g-string back into place and straightening out her skirt.

“Oh? So more to look forward to then.”

“You betcha.”

They donned their helmets again and got back on the Harley. Leonard started the engine once more and returned to the freeway on their way to the still unknown to her destination, although she had the feeling that she knew this route from sometime before. The vibrations of the engine below her were still shooting good feelings through the thin fabric covering her center but for now her urges were sated and she enjoyed the feeling.

She took a moment to think about this wonderful man whose back she was currently pressed against as the wind whipped around them. She had made one comment about a Harley and sex to him, months ago, and he took that as a cue to learn how to ride one after Dave Underhill's fell on his leg, only to give her the satisfactory feeling of enjoying the vibrations of this special engine under her.

And now they were on their way to the anniversary to this unknown location on this familiar road and tomorrow evening, when the night came that marked the passing of the first year of them being steady, she would tell him that she loved him. Loved him so much, that she thought about having kids with him. Okay, maybe she wouldn't tell him that tomorrow too.

But for now, she closed her eyes again to increase the feeling of her other senses. Maybe she had enough patience to keep them closed until they reached their destination. 

* * *

 

Apparently she had enough patience because suddenly Leonard stopped the bike and shut off the engine, indicating that they had reached their destination. Penny opened her eyes and lifted her head, seeing nothing but forests in her line of sight.

“Where are we?” she asked him.

“Turn your head around.” she heard him laughing through the headset.

She did and saw Frank and Alice standing next to their SUV, apparently waiting for them to give them their luggage. Penny took off her helmet and looked a bit more and finally realized where they were.

“Leonard.” she started. “Isn't this...?”

“Yeah. I thought since here was the place we became an official couple, why not celebrate our first anniversary in the exact same place. I even got the same room.” he replied.

“Really? The one with the Jacuzzi?”

“The very same.”

“That's awesome!” Penny exclaimed and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him hard.

“I thought so too. Now come on, Frank and Alice are waiting.”

They went to the other couple and grabbed their bags that Frank had already taken out of the back of the SUV. Penny thought that those two would now go back into their car to go wherever they were headed but was surprised when Frank took all their bags as well and slung them over his broad shoulders.

“Are you guys staying here too?” Penny asked.

“Yeah.” Frank replied. “It sounded like an amazing place when Leonard described it.”

“I hope we're not imposing.” Alice said.

“No, of course not.” Penny reassured her. “Besides, who are we to tell you where you can or cannot spend a weekend together.”

“I think it will work out even better.” Leonard piped in, addressing Penny. “Now you can have the spa experience with another woman and not with a man who frowns at the notion to get hot coffee poured into an orifice where definitely shouldn't be poured into.”

“Hey, I was with you in refusing it when they offered to do that.” Penny objected and playfully punched his arm.

“Come on, lets go in.” Leonard said and led the way inside.

Once they were through the door, they were greeted by the receptionist. To Penny's surprise, it was Clarice, the young woman who they met last year and Penny immediately disliked her when she saw the young woman's eyes stay a tad too long on Leonard before they widened at the sight of Frank who came in behind them.

She knew on one hand that her reaction was too much because she greeted new customers at the Cheesecake Factory the same way, with a bright smile and usually a cheery hello. But Penny's knowledge about the young woman and what she wanted to be plus Leonard's growing confidence gave her another nagging piece of doubt about her own qualities besides the physical ones.

Leonard appeared unfazed and went to the reception desk, getting the keys for the room and making room for the other couple. They all went upstairs and to their rooms, Penny seeing the Alice and Frank had a room several ones away from theirs. She didn't know if the others were occupied but at least those two wouldn't hear their carnal activities first hand.

As soon as they were in the room, Penny's good mood came back. The room was almost the same, the bed even had the same sheets it had the last time they were here. The Jacuzzi beckoned from the bathroom, asking to have sex in it again. The only difference was the missing rocking chair, making Penny blush at the memory what they did to break it.

“So, lunch?” Leonard asked after they had finished unpacking their bags and Penny had changed into more modest pants and shirt, not wanting anyone here but Leonard to ogle her cleavage.

“Sure.” Penny replied and slid her hand into his, walking out of the room and down the stairs.

On their way down, they caught up to Alice and Frank, who apparently had the same idea and walked to the integrated restaurant as well. Even without asking out loud, they all reached an agreement to sit together and enjoy the meal they would order. As soon as they had sat down, a waiter came over and brought them a pitcher of water, a basket of bread sticks and the menus before taking their drink orders. Not two minutes later, they all had their glasses in front of them and the waiter was waiting patiently with his notebook in hand.

“Question.” Penny directed towards the waiter. “What is the steamed halibut over leek and apples?”

“It's a halibut filet that is steamed over a pot with leek and apples. It makes the fish very tender to eat and the apples and leek will be part of the meal plus it is topped off with a creamy sauce.” the waiter replied.

“Uh, I'll take that.” Penny said excitedly.

“Me too.” Alice agreed.

“I'll take the steak in pepper sauce, well done with potatoes on the side.” Leonard ordered. “And he will take the rest of the cow.” he continued, pointing at Frank to the laughter of the girls.

“Hey! I resent that.” the big man objected. “I'll take the biggest steak you have, medium rare, double order of fries on the side.” he ordered, making his objection moot.

“The orders will take around thirty minutes.” the waiter advised and left.

“So, how are you liking your room?” Penny asked the other two.

“It's amazing. The bath has a Jacuzzi tub. I know what I will do tonight.” Alice replied.

“Yeah, they are great.” Penny agreed. “Also, they are automated, so you can actually set a timer on them, so if you go out and plan to return at seven for example, the tub will be filled with hot water at that time.”

“Really? Wow.” Frank said. “And luckily for me, it's even big enough for me. I have a hard time taking a bath anywhere with those standard tubs.”

“It's true.” Alice added. “We have a special tub at home, one that is longer than most and wider so he can get his head under water if he wants. In normal tubs, he can't get in deeper than his shoulders, they are too wide to fit. Not to mention his legs.”

“But don't you have the problem of sliding down when lying in this tub of yours?” Leonard asked her. “Without your feet stopping you at the other end.”

“Yeah, but he solved that problem by making a frame that we can slide into the tub from above. That way we can make the tub fit for anyone.” Alice replied.

They spent the rest of the waiting time in small talk about their plans for being here, Penny demanding riding the horses again this afternoon and later maybe a massage, until the waiter brought them their food. Penny's mouth watered at the smell of her dish after it was placed before her.

The taste was even better. The apples gave the entire meal a strange but sweet note that completely complemented the fish and the cream sauce. She pointed it out and Alice agreed with her, digging into her own food with gusto. Frank on the other hand almost inhaled his food, the steak he got almost as big as the entire plate with the fries on an extra one, the cook having seen his gargantuan frame and following his order for the biggest steak to the letter.

Leonard ate more timid, enjoying the succulent meat and the potatoes. It was delicious and filling and he became giddy at the thought that in about thirty hours, he and his girlfriend would be sitting in a fancy restaurant in the town close by where he would finally declare his love and hope that she wouldn't flee for her life. Little did he know that she had the same idea. 

* * *

 

After they had eaten, the couples separated again and Penny dragged Leonard outside to enjoy the warm weather and digest most of their food before they would go riding the horses. Leonard had of course pleaded with her to reconsider, remembering the last time he rode a horse and how his backside felt after that. Although he was eager to see if his experience with Wyatt's horse could be repeated.

An hour later, Penny dragged him towards the stables and were greeted by Clarice again, which made Penny grind her teeth when she saw the young woman eyeing Leonard for way too long. It could have been her imagination but to Penny it looked like the woman was trying to convey her availability to Leonard the way she swung her hips while walking in front of them to lead them to the horses.

“Here we are.” Clarice said after arriving, the familiar sounds and smells of horses music in Penny's ears. “Have you ridden a horse since your visit last year?” she added, directed to Leonard.

“Yes, actually. I don't claim to be an expert but I've gotten quite good at it.” Leonard replied.

“He tamed a former rodeo horse when we visited my parents for a week.” Penny threw in, hoping Clarice would get the message.

“Good. I have two horses for you that you will enjoy then.” Clarice said and led them to the back of the stable where two beautiful mares were waiting to be ridden.

Both Penny and Leonard saddled the horses without help, her experience and his memory of the action making them able to do it. After attaching the bridle, they both led the horses out into the open and past the fence onto the wide pasture, the end of the field far away.

“Okay, please to a circle around the enclosure so I can see if you really can handle them.” Clarice said.

Penny got into the saddle and started riding, Leonard a fraction slower and following her. Both rode their horses along the fence line, speeding up for the longer sides and slowing down at the shorter. They returned to Clarice who looked impressed, especially at Leonard, making Penny grind her teeth again.

“Alright, you two are really good.” the woman said. “Since we don't have other people scheduled today, feel free to put them through their paces. You don't have to stay in the enclosure, you can also ride along the dirt paths around the lake.”

“Do these paths encircle the entire lake?” Leonard asked.

“Yes, they do.” came the reply.

“And what distance to they sum up to?”

“About thirty-five miles. The horses can do the distance easily if you don't have them gallop all the time but if you go in a slow gait, they can do it easily. If you do want to go faster, I propose taking a break from time to time, let them drink from the lake or graze if they want.”

“Won't they run away?” Penny asked.

“In your saddle bags, you will wind a long rope with a hook ring, next to some blankets. We have placed long metal poles at several points around the lake where you can tie the horses to. That way they won't run off but have enough room to walk around and to reach the water.”

“Well Penny, up for a ride around the lake?” Leonard grinned at her.

“Why Doctor Hofstadter, you just read my mind. Lets go!” she exclaimed and turned her horse around, letting it walk the way towards the gate that led towards the dirt paths.

Leonard followed her and looked at the woman he loved, the way her hair whipped in the headwind and her body moved on top of the horse. He felt his manhood harden when he thought about the fact that she moved the same way on top of him, although it was usually faster.

With an exultant yell, she put her feet into the horses flank and let it run, Leonard hot on her tails. They held this speed for a few miles before they let the horses slow down again. Penny knew from experience that horses liked to run so doing that wasn't bad for them even if they sounded like they would collapse from exhaustion. The way around the lake was a long one so Penny smiled at Leonard and set a slow pace, wanting to enjoy this thing with him for as long as possible. 

* * *

 

After about three hours, Penny felt her stomach lurch and the feeling mirrored on her face. Usually she never had a problem with seasickness when riding a horse but maybe she wasn't used to his anymore. She saw a beach with one of those poles Clarice had mentioned and mentioned to Leonard to follow her.

They unhorsed and used the ropes to hook the horses to the pole before grabbing a blanket to sit on. Since it wasn't holiday season, the beach was empty and while they had used that fact a year before for some good lovemaking in the water, this time it would be impossible for lack of a towel and also because her stomach continued to roil.

“Are you okay?” Leonard asked, seeing her distress.

“Not really. My stomach feels a little queasy. Do you feel sick?”

“No. I feel fine. Great even.” he replied.

“Well, I think I might be seasick from the riding.” she tried to quip.

“Really? That didn't happen in Nebraska and we rode longer and faster there in worse air.”

“I know. But what else could it be?”

“Hm. Maybe your lunch doesn't agree with you.”

“I had fish before and they don't appear to be lenient when it comes to preparing the food.” she said, referring to the Bed and Breakfast. “And I'm not allergic or adverse to leek, apples or cream sauce.”

“Then lets take a few deep breaths for a while and then return. Since we're about half the way around the lake, we can continue on this path.”

Leonard lay down on the blanket and mentioned for Penny to join him. She got down as well and rested her head his stomach, stretching her legs out and taking deep breaths to calm her stomach. It worked for a time but it continued to gurgle and flip occasionally all the time. After an hour, Leonard mentioned for her to get up.

“We should head back or we won't return after dark. How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Better, but not much. We should take it slow.” she replied and watched him fold the blanket and put it back into the saddle bag.

He unhooked the horses and put the rope back into the bags as well and helped Penny get up on hers. They got back onto the dirt path and rose in a slow gait that would take them another three hours to get back.

The movement of the horse worsened her condition by the minute. She took deep breaths, trying to calm her lurching stomach as they rode slowly towards the B&B and hopefully her bed plus an explanation of what was wrong with her. Knowing Leonard, he would rush into town to get something from the local drug store to help her and she loved him for that.

She managed two and a half hours, only a mile away from their goal. Suddenly, she sat straight up and felt the bile rise inside her. She stopped the horse and jumped off it, catching Leonard's confused and concerned look before she hurried to the treeline and vomited violently, expelling the contents of her stomach into the underbrush.

After several more dry heaves, she felt Leonard's hands on her, holding her hair away from her face. When she had calmed down, he held a water bottle in front of her face, which she took gratefully, taking slow sips of the cool liquid.

“Feeling better now?” he asked concerned.

“A little.” she replied in a hoarse voice. “But I don't think I can get back on the horse.”

“If you feel up to it, we can walk.” he suggested and she simply nodded.

Leonard grabbed the horses' reigns and started leading them, while Penny walked next to them, holding herself up at the saddle of hers. It took them almost ninety minutes to walk the one mile to the B&B. As soon as they came into view, another stable boy rushed out to them and after a short explanation, took the horses and told them he'd clean them and he should care for Penny.

Leonard took Penny's hand and led her through the back entrance into the B&B where they were greeted with the loud booming of Frank's voice echoing through the building, almost shaking the entire house. Both Leonard and Penny looked at each other at the sight of an angry giant shaking his ham-sized fists around and Penny felt almost sorry for poor Clarice who was barely reaching his chest and had to take his ire.

“What do you mean, you're not sure.” Frank boomed. “My fiance is up in our room, vomiting and she had nothing else to eat than the yogurt at home and the lunch she had here.”

“My girlfriend also has stomach problems. And she had the same meal his fiance had.” Leonard interrupted and led Penny up the stairs. They got into their room and Penny went into the bathroom, washing her face and drinking some more water directly from the faucet. She returned and got into the bed, staying in the fetal position so keep her stomach calm.

“I'll go down there and try to find out what's happened, alright?” Leonard said. “Then I'll head to the drugstore in town and get whatever you need. I will also have them bring up some crackers or zwieback and some chamomile tea.” he continued and kissed her forehead before putting the blanket over her. He headed back down and was greeted by a still fuming Frank, who calmed at the sight of him.

“Her too?” Frank asked him, pointing his head towards their room.

“Yeah. She got sick a few hours ago when we were riding out. We had to walk the last mile because she couldn't get back onto the horse.” Leonard replied just as the owner of the B&B came from the kitchen.

“We found out what happened.” the owner, Mr Miller, said. “It appears that the delivery of fish we got yesterday was spoiled. Two of our employees have got an upset stomach as well. I want to make it clear that our chef didn't make a mistake in the preparation.”

“So what now?” Frank asked rhetorically. “This isn't the romantic weekend I imagined.”

“As an apology, we are prepared to waive any bills from this point on, essentially giving you a half-board weekend, although the contents of the minibar still won't be included.” the owner suggested. “If you decide to leave, we won't charge you anything.”

“I suggest, we stay here another night.” Leonard said. “If the girls feel better in the morning, we'll take you up on that offer. If they're still sick then, we'll leave.”

“That sounds good.” Frank agreed.

“Since they have already vomited, I'll head into town and get a light laxative so they can clean out their colons from the bad fish.” Leonard said and turned towards the owner. “Can you bring some chamomile tea and crackers or zwieback to my girlfriend?”

“Of course.” the owner nodded.

“To mine too.” Frank threw in. “Can you bring some laxative for Alice as well?” the asked Leonard.

“Of course. I know just the stuff they need.” Leonard said and headed out. 

* * *

 

Penny heard a knock on the door and lifted her head, wondering why Leonard didn't come in. Before she could think further, she heard a female voice through the door.

“Room service.”

“Come in.” she called out and the door opened to reveal a somber looking Clarice who was carrying a tray.

“Your boyfriend told us to bring you some chamomile tea and zwieback.” the woman said and placed the tray on the nightstand.

“Thank you.” Penny replied, wondering if her imagination played a trick on her but she swore that Clarice said the word boyfriend in a disbelieving manner. “Where is he?”

“I think he headed into town to get something from the drugstore.”

“Okay. What happened? Was it the food?” Penny asked.

“Unfortunately yes. The fish delivery yesterday was spoiled. Luckily, only you, your friend and two of our employees ate it, so the damage is limited.”

“Yeah, luckily.” Penny deadpanned.

“Sorry, I meant no disrespect. But we are taking action against the our supplier. Something like this cannot happen.”

“I hope not.” the voice of Leonard interrupted them. “Romantic weekends don't mean as much when one of the partners is vomiting.”

“We're so sorry.” Clarice said.

“It's okay, we had the talk with your father already and he offered us compensation. But now, thank you for bringing her the tea. I will take it from here.”

“Of course. Feel better.”

Clarice left the room and Leonard came over, kneeling down next to the bed and pouring some tea into the cup. He blew on the tea to cool it a little and handed her the cup after she had sat up straight, which she drank slowly. She ate a few pieces of zwieback and laid back down, taking a deep sigh.

“What compensation did you get?” she asked her sweetie.

“They waive any costs except for the lodging today, so basically we get a free weekend. Should you not feel better in the morning and we have to leave, we don't have to pay anything. Although, the minibar and the lunch we eat will still have to be paid.”

“That sounds fair.” she agreed. “What did you get from the drugstore?”

“A mild laxative. Since you already vomited out whatever was left in your stomach, you need to get out that what is still in your colon.”

“Such a romantic weekend, vomiting followed by diarrhea.” she quipped.

“Yeah.” he laughed. “But when you can make jokes again, you're already getting better.”

He went into the bathroom and came back out with a glass of water that he stirred with a spoon. She curled her lips at the prospect of drinking a laxative but she knew that he was right. If they wanted to enjoy this weekend, she would need to be healthy. After she had drunken the entire glass, almost gagging at the bitter taste, she laid back down and watched him leave the room only to return with another tray filled with several pieces of bread, some slices of cold cuts and cabbage, everything one would need for a sandwich.

After watching him eat the sandwich while she munched on the zwieback, he grabbed his laptop out of his bag and connected it to the TV so they could watch TV in bed. They got under the blanket and Leonard spooned her, his hand falling onto her stomach and warming it with his touch. As her eyes fell shut, she hoped that she would feel better in the morning so they could have their anniversary without her having to walk bending forward because otherwise she would vomit. 

* * *

 

She woke up again while it was still dark outside and quickly hurried into the bathroom, her body making her use the toilet as the laxatives worked inside her. With a loud groan, she released and the sound it created made her beet red in the face with embarrassment. It took ten minutes until she was finally empty and after flushing, she got up to wash her face and hands.

As she looked at herself in the mirror, she realized that she felt great. Apparently the mixture of laxative, chamomile tea and zwieback had calmed her stomach enough to make her healthy again. She skipped back into the bedroom and jumped into bed, the sudden lurch waking up Leonard.

“What's going on?” he sleepily asked.

“Nothing. Just that I feel great again.” she replied and settled back down under the covers and into his embrace.

“That's great.” he replied and promptly fell asleep again.

She smiled and tried to fall asleep again but she was too excited about the day ahead to do it. She lay awake for at least two hours when her eyes finally closed again and sleep took her.

She woke up to the sound of the toilet flushing and when her eyes opened, she saw Leonard exiting the bathroom with a towel around his waist. She licked her lips at the thought what was under it but right now she felt too dirty to have sex. Since her condition yesterday had made her forget to take a shower or even change, she could even smell her own body and winced.

She got up and into the bathroom, using the toilet again before hopping into the shower, cleaning herself up and exiting again. After drying off, she went out into the main room again, and dressed in some underwear and casual clothes for the day. Hand in hand, they went out of the room and into the restaurant for breakfast where they found Frank and Alice, eating already. Penny stopped at their table while Leonard went to the breakfast bar.

“Hey you two. How are you feeling?” she asked Alice.

“Much better.” Alice replied. “I must say, your Leonard is great in choosing remedies to heal an upset stomach. I might not have gotten a good nights sleep because of the laxative but it combined with the tea and zwieback really made me better.”

“I know, it was the same for me. I'm so glad it worked, now we can have our anniversary properly.”

“Oh, what do you have planned?” Alice asked.

“I don't know, he won't tell me.” Penny replied and sat down as Leonard returned with their breakfast, knowing exactly what Penny ate for breakfast.

“So, what's on the agenda for today?” Frank asked as they ate.

“Spa experience.” Alice replied to Frank's groan. “Massages, mud baths, you name it.”

“We don't have to participate.” Leonard told the giant. “They have other things we can do while the women get even more beautiful.”

“Like?”

“Archery, mini golf, some other things. I won't suggest horseback riding, since I don't think they have a horse big enough for you.”

“Rub it in.” Frank said, squinting his eyes.

“After lunch, we can go to the beach.” Penny suggested. “About an hour on foot away is an amazing beach with beautiful sand. It's also a bit off the path, the last time we were here, we were alone the entire time.”

“Good idea.” Alice agree. “We can rent bicycles to get there.”

“Yeah, we can. Better than walking.” Leonard said, remembering the year before when he and Penny had walked there the first time.

Once they were done eating, the group went into the spa area. While the guys headed further to do whatever they wanted to do, Penny dragged Alice to the massage parlor where two masseuses awaited them. They went into the changing rooms and undressed before heading back out with a towel around their bodies and lying down on the massage tables.

As soon as the hands of the masseuses touched her, Penny moaned in delight. Leonard gave her good massages sometimes but compared to this, his ministrations felt like a hawk was carrying a piece of dead meat to its nest. She heard Alice moan as well as her masseuse found a particular knot and closed her eyes as the experienced hands worked on her.

Unfortunately, even the best massages had to end sometimes and with a heavy heart, Penny got up after their hour was up. With a smile, both donned their terry cloth robes and walked into the next area where the mud baths were waiting. After some hesitation, she wrapped her hair into a towel and got inside, surprised at how good it felt. While they were soaking in the viscous liquid, the woman in charge of the spa area walked towards them and put cream onto their faces and slices of cucumber over their eyes.

Penny laughed at the way she must look like, like the women on TV who got those treatments. She and Alice spend the hour in small talk, their talk revolving mostly around their respective partners and her kid until the woman in charge told them that they should get out and into the showers.

Penny cleaned herself up and met Alice outside again where the official led them to the steam rooms. One sitting lasted for fifteen minutes followed by thirty minutes relaxing on lounges that dipped backwards. Both used the time on those to nap since they hadn't slept continuously during the night.

After two more steam room sessions, they went to the showers again and from there they were led to the beauty salon where they got a manicure and pedicure to complete the experience.

Almost suddenly, the clock chimed one o'clock in the afternoon, surprising Penny at how fast the time had flown by. She got back into the changing room and got dressed, wondering what Leonard and Frank had done all morning while she and Alice had been kneaded, soaked, and worked on. As she exited the spa area fully dressed with Alice behind her, walking out into the hot air, they were awaited by their partners, both holding trays of sandwiches with different toppings.

“No lunch in the restaurant?” Penny asked after giving her sweetie a kiss.

“No, we're going out tonight, so a light lunch it is.” Leonard replied and led them towards a stone table and stone benches where they sat down to eat.

“So, what now?” Alice asked.

“Well, we have organized four bicycles, so all we need to do is change into our swim suits and head to the beach.” Frank replied.

The group finished eating and dispersed, each couple going into their respective room. Since Leonard had already changed before getting the food and waiting for Penny, he had the best view when he sat down on the bed and watched his beautiful girlfriend change.

“Are you watching me?” she asked as she pulled her bikini out of her bag.

“Yes. I already changed so I want to just enjoy the show.” he grinned.

She shook her head and took off her shoes and socks before her pants and shirt until she stood in front of him in her underwear. She reached behind her and opened the clasp of her bra, letting the garment fall and stretching her arms over her head to make her breasts perk up. Enjoying his gulp, she turned around and bent forward while slowly pulling down her panties, grinning when she heard his groan at the sight of her perfect ass.

She got back up and turned around again, walking towards him with determination in her eyes. She straddled him and kissed him, trying to press him backwards and flat onto the bed and wondering why he resisted.

“Leonard.” she breathed into his ear. “Don't you want me?”

“Very much. But we have two people waiting for us.” he replied with effort.

“Right.” she groaned and got up, grabbing her bikini and putting it on.

“Believe me, if they weren't in the picture, you would be wriggling under me.” he said and grabbed her from behind, pressing his erection into her ass.

“I think you would rather be the one under me while I ride you as hard as possible.” she replied and moved her ass to grind over his covered manhood. “Now let go of me, I need to get dressed.”

She dressed in a loose shirt and a flowing skirt that was easy to get off again and both headed out, Leonard grabbing the bag with their towels, bottles of water, sunscreen and blanket. Frank and Alice were waiting patiently at the foot of the stairs and they all headed out to grab their bicycles and ride towards the beach. Penny couldn't suppress a shiver of anticipation. Only four more hours or so before she would be out with Leonard wherever he planned to take her. And where she would finally tell him that she loved him. 

* * *

 

As soon as they reached the spot where they wanted to go, Penny led them over the narrow path that led to the secluded spot she found the year before. Once they were on the sand, they spread out their blankets and took off their clothes. Leonard and Penny were the first and when she was sitting on the blanket and rubbing sunscreen onto her skin, she watched as Frank and Alice undressed as well.

The sight of Frank in swim shorts was one for the ages. His broad chest was shaven and wide, going down in a V-pattern to his hips and insanely muscular thighs that looked like they could crack a coconut between them.

Even more amazing was the sight of his fiance in her bikini. If Penny didn't know that she had given birth six months before, she would have never believed that this woman was a mother already.

“Wow.” she said towards Alice while handing Leonard the bottle of sunscreen so he could rub it on his skin and then her back.

“What?” Alice asked.

“I was just thinking, if I didn't know that you were a mother, I would never guess that you have a kid. You look amazing.”

“Thank you.” Alice smiled.

“I just hope I look as good once I give birth to mine and Leonard's kid.” Penny said and since her attention was on the other woman, she missed Leonard dropping the sunscreen in shock at her remark. That was the first time he had heard her say something like this and not joking about it.

As he rubbed sunscreen onto her back, he decided to remain silent about this because he feared that she might be scared off once she realized what she had said. He just hoped that his declaration tonight didn't do the same.

Once they all had sunscreen on them, they went prone on their blankets, soaking up the sun and hopefully getting a tan instead of a sunburn. After an hour all went into the water, enjoying the cool liquid and playing around with a beach ball that Frank had brought and blown up before getting into the water.

Unfortunately, the old adage that time flies when you had fun turned out to be true when it turned five-thirty. Leonard grabbed his phone and checked his messages, finding half a dozen from Sheldon and a few from Raj and Howard, all asking how he liked the Babylon 5 convention and trying to sour his mood by pointing out that Penny hasn't been seen since Friday noon and Stuart was standing in his store with a satisfied grin on his face.

“Yeah, after all this time, they still think we're just friends.” Penny laughed. “Also, it seems that Silvia put out on her date with Stuart.”

“Maybe not.” Leonard objected. “I think Stuart would grin like this even after a successful date without sex.”

“Haven't you told them at some point that you're a couple?” Alice asked.

“No, we wanted to let them find it out by themselves since they are all geniuses. But so far, the concept seems to be so foreign to them that they ignore even the most obvious signs.” Penny replied. “I mean, we even kissed in front of them.”

“Yeah, but for them, the New Year's kiss was just that and they didn't see the goodbye kiss we had a few weeks ago.” Leonard added while he put on his shirt and pants.

They finished dressing and refolded the blankets before getting on their bicycles and riding back to the B&B. When they arrived, they gave the bikes back and each couple went to its room. Leonard washed up first to give Penny the opportunity to get ready without having to make room for him.

As soon as he was out, Penny grabbed the clothes she wanted to wear for the date and headed into the bathroom. She took a shower and dried herself off before standing naked in front of the mirror to fix her hair and makeup.

She opened the small bag with the clothes and took them out. First, she put on the black thong she had chosen, its cut making her ass look amazing, even she had to admit that. She had originally planned to forego a bra but after choosing the dress, she saw the need for one unless she liked to flash others after a sharp movement like a jump.

She grabbed the strapless bra and put it on, fixing her cleavage. She ten took the dress and slipped into it, pulling it up and the thin straps over her shoulders. She smoothed it out and looked at herself. The black satin hugged her body, accentuating every curve and presenting it in its best light. She knew that she was considered beautiful and Leonard oftentimes told her but right now she saw why they always said that.

When she came out of the bathroom, Leonard's jaw hit the floor. Her outfit once more said everything what he loved about this woman. She really was the most beautiful woman on the planet. Runway models were just pale in comparison to the radiance of his girlfriend.

“Eyes back into the sockets, Leonard.” Penny quipped, looking at her boyfriend. He had donned a sports coat without a tie and looked quite dashing in it.

“Um... I... yes.” he stammered, blinking rapidly and closing his mouth.

He offered her his arm and she took it, walking out of the room. Every male and even the females turned their heads when they descended the stairs, making Penny feel quite smug, especially at the big-eyed stare of Clarice.

“Want to walk the distance? It's only a mile.” Leonard suggested.

“Yeah. It's still very warm.” she replied and both walked down the street towards the restaurant Leonard had reserved their table in.

After walking into the french restaurant, the maitre d' led them to their table, partially secluded behind a row of flower arrangements. They were led to a table where a candle burned brightly and a bottle of her favorite white wine waited, along with two glasses.

Leonard pulled back her chair and allowed her to sit down before doing the same into his chair. They smiled at each other, momentarily overwhelmed by the place and each other while the waiter brought them two menus to leaf through.

“Leonard, this place is amazing.” she told him, smiling.

“I'm glad you like it. I looked it up online.” he replied and both buried themselves into the menus.

They both chose a tomato soup as appetizer, which took only five minutes to arrive and they slowly ate it, dipping the complementary bread into it. She took her right foot out of her show and rubbed it against Leonard's leg, making him freeze for a moment until he realized what she was doing. As soon as they were done eating, the waiter came to take away their dishes and take their order for the main course.

“I'll take the Chicken Francese on rice with green cabbage on the side.” Penny ordered

“And I'll take the Beef Bourguignon.” Leonard said and the waiter disappeared.

“What's that?” Penny asked, referring to his choice.

“It's beef in red wine sauce on Fusilli pasta.” he replied.

“Fusilli?”

“Those spiral noodles, or corkscrew, whatever you associate with the shape.”

“Why don't you say so.” she laughed and got serious again. “Thank you for taking me here.”

“Gladly. Much better than sitting at home listening to Sheldon complain over something.”

“I bet. Hey listen, I forgot to ask you then but my dad called me two weeks ago. He asked if I wanted to come to Nebraska in the summer and would like you to come too.”

“Gladly. Spending a week with you and your families when it's warm outside? If not for some outside influence stopping me, I will be there with you.”

“Thank you. Also, my dad followed your advice and got one of those geothermal pumps. He told me that he doesn't even have to use the fireplaces, the house stays warm even in winter as long as the temperature doesn't drop below ten degrees.”

“That's great!” Leonard exclaimed.

“Yeah. He also rented out some land of ours to an energy company for two wind turbines.”

“Wow, that gives him a whole new income.” Leonard said as the waiter returned with their food.

Penny's mouth watered at the smell of her dish, even more than the day before when the fish was placed before her. As soon as the waiter was gone, she dug into her meal, moaning at the amazing taste of her food.

“Oh my god, that tastes so amazing.” Penny said and her eyes rolled back.

“Mine is not bad either.” he grinned and put another piece of meat into his mouth.

“Can I taste some?”

“Sure.”

Penny stretched her arm and got some of his food onto her fork, making sure that she got both meat, pasta and sauce. She put it into her mouth and almost fainted. The red wine sauce gave the meat an amazing aftertaste and made her weak in the knees, almost like sex did.

“Seriously, we need to switch meals.” she said.

“No, you chose your... wait a minute, aren't you a vegetarian?” he asked.

“Yeah, but I have such a hankering for meat lately, I don't know what's going on. Don't tell anyone please.” she pleaded.

“Let me first taste some of yours.” he said and attempted get a piece of her chicken.

“Get your fork away from my food.” she said playfully and waved her own.

“Come on, let me... what are they doing here?” he asked surprised and looked behind her.

“Who is it?” she asked and turned around to look, seeing nobody. She turned back and saw Leonard put his fork into his mouth, salivating her chicken. “You sneaky little bastard.” she grinned.

“Tasty. Very tasty. But I still like mine better, so no switching.” he exclaimed.

“Spoilsport.” she pouted but enjoyed the banter and her food.

They continued to eat slowly, making small talk and Penny's stomach flipped again but this time from anxiety over her upcoming proclamation. She intended to tell him before the dessert arrived, hoping to get it out before she lost her courage.

Eve the best meal ended at some point, so it came as no surprise when both their plates were empty, both having pinched a few bites from the other during the meal. The waiter came over to remove their dishes and soon returned again to ask them if they wanted a dessert.

“Yes.” Leonard confirmed. “We'll take Chocolate Mousse Cake.”

“Oh my god, I love chocolate mousse.” Penny exclaimed and the waiter left, smiling to himself.

While they waited, Penny took a deep breath. She looked around and saw that they were momentarily alone, the table next to them empty and only two of the ones in her line of sight occupied. The table behind her was in use but she was sure that she was talking low enough for these people not to hear her. It was now or never.

“Leonard, I wanted to tell you something. Something important and I have thought about how to tell you for a while now.” she said, trying not to stammer. Leonard stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue. “And now, that we are together for a year, I need to tell you that... um... I... HOLY SHIT!” she shouted as a crash sounded next to them and something extremely cold hit the bare skin of her lower leg.

She looked down and saw another waiter on the floor beside them, struggling to get up. The man had been carrying a tray with ice cream desserts and one of them had landed directly on her lower leg, coating the entire outside of it in very cold cream.

“What the hell happened?” she asked exasperated, severely pissed off at the interruption of what was to her an extremely important moment.

“The woman sitting at the table behind you pushed back her chair just as the waiter was walking by, thereby tripping him.” Leonard explained just as the waiter in question managed to get up again, his clothes full of the ice cream he landed on, while their own waiter came hurrying towards their table, their dessert in his hands.

“I am so sorry, Miss.” the waiter who fell said, the woman who caused the accident repeating the words, both to Penny and the waiter.

“Where are the bathrooms?” Penny asked. “I need to get this off my legs.”

“Follow me.” their waiter said after placing the dishes with the pieces of chocolate mousse cake on the table.

Penny did as he told and walked towards the back where a waitress was waiting for them. The room turned out to be the employees lounge and the young waitress proceeded to clean Penny's leg with warm water and a sponge after she had taken off her shoe, taking care of not getting water on her dress.

She stayed her tongue, knowing that cursing loudly about this would get her nowhere since the poor girl had nothing to do with it. That didn't stop her from cursing inwardly at the spoiled moment. She couldn't go out again and sit down for the dessert to then proclaim her love since the romantic moment had been completely ruined by an inattentive woman and a waiter who paid for it.

Once she was clean, she still felt the cold on her leg and headed back out, seeing Leonard waiting next to the lounge with her purse and a box in hand. As she got closer, he held out her purse and she took it before slinging it over her shoulder.

“What now?” she asked.

“I figured since the mood is kinda ruined, we take the dessert with us. I already paid and they gave us an entire chocolate mousse cake for free as apology.” he replied.

“Okay.” she said dejected and followed him out of the restaurant where the cooler evening air hit her like a brick, especially her leg.

“Wow, it has gotten chilly since the sun went down.” she said and shivered slightly, her dress not made for warming.”

“Here.” Leonard gave her his coat jacket and hailed a cab.

They got inside and since it was only a mile, the drive took only a few minutes. As they were exiting the car, her phone rang. She took it out of her purse and saw her parent's number on the screen.

“Hey.” she greeted the person on the other end as Leonard paid the cab driver.

“Hey honey.” her mother's voice greeted her.

“Hey, mom, what's up?”

“I just wanted to ask if you have talked to Leonard about coming with you in the summer. Your dad really wants to see him.”

“Jeez, it sounds like he wants to see him more than me.” Penny deadpanned as she followed Leonard inside. She turned right and stayed in the corner, not wanting to have other guests hear her.

“Come on sweetie, you know he wants to see you too. But he really likes Leonard. By the way, didn't you say you had your anniversary soon?”

“Actually, I'm having it right now. Just came back from a fancy restaurant where, after a romantic dinner, a waiter spilled ice cream on my leg.”

“Wow, sweetie, I'm so sorry.” Meryl said and Penny looked around, stopping dead when she saw Leonard standing close to the stairs and Clarice grabbing onto his arm. It could be some innocent gesture but the way she looked at him clearly showed more than just a casual interest.

“Mom, I talk to you later, I gotta go.” she said quietly and hung up the phone, putting it back into her purse.

Penny walked towards the two, upon which Clarice quickly took her hand off Leonard's arm and retreating back into her receptionist booth. Leonard offered his arm to Penny to go up to their room but the only thing Penny saw was Clarice's hand on Leonard's arm. Without a word, she stomped up the stairs and into their room, directly heading into the bathroom. 

* * *

 

Penny stood in the bathroom, using pieces of cotton to wipe the makeup from her face. She sighed deeply as the let the events of the evening run through her head again. What had happened? They were enjoying a wonderful dinner in a great restaurant, except the end of it, and since the temperature had dropped quite a few degrees after the sun had gone down, they had decided to take a cab back to the Bed and Breakfast, since Penny had no jacket with her.

How did things go awry like that? First that woman knocked down the waiter who in turn interrupted her declaration. Her mother calling was unexpected but she could have dealt with that easily. But seeing Clarice run her hand over Leonard's arm while he didn't shrug it off him had been tough. The fact that he hadn't reacted positively had lessened the blow but seeing another smart and sophisticated woman make a move on Leonard while they were on their anniversary was hard to stomach.

“Penny, are you alright?” Leonard asked her in a quiet voice, standing in the doorway to the bathroom and looking at her reflection in the mirror.

“Yeah.” she sighed but he noticed her depressed mood.

“Come on, I know you well enough to see that something is bothering you. Is there something wrong with your parents? You have been quiet like this since the phone call you got from your mom.”

“You want to know what's wrong?” she asked, her voice rising. “The fact that another woman made yet another move on you and you did nothing to stop her.”

“What? Who did... What are you talking about?” he asked and she could see in his eyes that his confusion was genuine.

“I'm talking about Clarice. Haven't you noticed that she ran her hand up and down your arm?”

“Yeah. But how is that a come on? She was telling me about her studies and was showing me how much pressure to apply to a horses leg for some kind of treatment.”

“Not every woman comes on to you with words. They use actions to make you figure it out. Clarice wasn't the first one who tried that with you.” Penny sighed.

“Really? I can't remember anyone but you running her hand over my body lately.” he grinned, trying to lift her mood.

“That's not funny. Have you any idea what it feels like to see your boyfriend being fondled or chased after by other beautiful and smart and successful woman?”

“Who else are you talking about?”

“Leslie. Doctor Stephanie. Alicia.”

“Alicia? You mean the other actress who lived above us for only a week before moving in with that producer?”

“Yes! Do you know another Alicia?”

“How was she after me? She never made any move besides asking me and the guys for help.”

“She told me before we got into our scuffle.” Penny said.

“Yeah, that was a sight to behold.” he grinned again.

“Not funny Leonard! Every time something like that happens, I wonder what you see in me.” she sighed.

“Do you know what I noticed first about you?” he asked with a smile and closed in on her, standing right behind her.

“My breasts?” she asked playfully and his smile widened.

“Well, actually it was your eyes.” he corrected her. “When I looked into your eyes the first time in that bar, I saw the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life and not just on the outside.”

“And all this time we've known each other, you always treated me so well.” she admitted. “Not just physically but you never made me feel stupid, even when I felt like it myself or didn't understand a word you said.”

“Do you know why I noticed your eyes first?” he asked again, hugging her body from behind and running his hand along her stomach, his fingers drawing circles on the thin fabric covering her skin. She only lifted her eyebrows in expectation. “I thought I could drown in those orbs. They are intoxicating and you have that ability to glare at me like you want to kill me and in the next second it changes to a look of desire. Whenever we look at each other, I could lose myself in your eyes.”

She relaxed into his embrace and closed her eyes, enjoying his hand moving on her stomach. She would have liked to have it touch her skin directly but her dress didn't allow that. She exhaled strongly, trying to release the frustration she still felt at seeing the man she loved being hit on by another woman.

“Do you know why I love the skin of your neck?” he asked suddenly, his lips moving along her skin.

“Mh, no.” she hummed, tremendously enjoying his ministrations.

“You have this spot, right... here.” he explained, before he dug his teeth into the spot just above her pulse point, making her shudder.

“Are you sure about that?” she tried to quip, but her response only managed to come out as a sigh, while she tried to remain upright.

“Pretty much.” he chuckled. “I've spent a long time getting to know your body, honey.”

She had no doubt in her mind about that and it had been a long pleasurable time, especially for her. He had shown a single-minded determination to learn about her, to understand her, and she was pretty sure that every once in a while, he had competed with himself to see if he could bring her to orgasm faster, or more often, or see how many ways he could find that would prolong her pleasure. Usually, she didn't care much because it was so worth it.

And she hadn't been much different. At first she had been happy just to be on the receiving end but once she had understood and, more importantly, accepted her feelings for him, she had done the same with him. She had learned about his signs and tells, learned how she could become better at pleasuring him for a long time without making him climax too soon.

While he had way more success than she had in that regard, pleasuring her in a way no man had before, she was proud of her own success with him, especially when managing to hold him up to an hour before letting him release.

His fingers started moving, the hand that wasn't on her stomach sliding into hers before he pushed it up her body until both their hands covered her left satin-clad breast.

“You have such soft skin too, some of the softest skin I've ever felt.” he murmured into her ear, continuing to kiss her shoulder as he kneaded her covered breast with both his fingers and hers. “But you also smell very nice. The few times I've woken up and you were gone already, your smell always lingers in the sheets and pillow.”

Penny moaned quietly, her head falling back with her eyes still closed. His other hand, the one that had been busy rubbing circles on her stomach, went to her shoulder and loosened the straps of her dress, pushing them from her shoulders and pulling the fabric down as best as he could with one hand. Penny took her hand from her breast and helped him, pulling the dress down her body until it fell to the floor.

His right hand went back up and to her front, playing with the cup of her bra and withdrawing the sensitive nipple from its cover. His fingers slid over the already hardening nipple with  
a light touch and she bent her back to get more pressure from his hand.

She whimpered in disappointment when both his hands left her body and after he opened the clasp of her bra, he rested his hands on the counter in front of her, encircling her body with his. She made the bra fall to the floor with a slight movement of her shoulder, and watched him not even trying to hide his admiration of her bare breasts.

He watched her carefully, his eyes drinking in every nuance of her body and one of his hands came back up to her breast, his fingers gliding over her nipple which was already rock hard and sensible to his touch. She moaned when he gently pinched it before he moved his fingers around her areola, while his other hand went back to her stomach, only this time it was a lot further down.

“Can you imagine what went through my head tonight when I saw you in that dress?” he asked her, his eyes again locking with hers in the mirror.

“I have an idea.” she answered playfully, lifting one of her hands to guide the movements of his hand on her stomach, pushing it deeper and deeper.

“I thought that I was the luckiest man alive.” he replied, surprising her with the absolute sincerity in his voice. She believed him, because she could remember the look on his face when she had come out of the bathroom. “You really pulled out all the stops tonight. That dress showed off your soft skin and your amazing curves. I had the hardest time keeping my hands away from the places of your body that could be considered indecent to touch in public all the time I was close to you.”

His hands left her breast and stomach to palm her sides, running slowly up and down from breasts to hips. She moaned again, both in lament at the loss of contact on her breast and stomach but also in delight at the feeling of his hands on her sides.

“That's what I went for.” she breathed.

“Your body haunts my dreams. You're slim, athletic and really flexible.” he laughed softly.

His emphasis on the last word reminded her of some of the more adventurous nights together and she moaned at the images it evoked. The tips of his fingers slipped under the edge of her black lace thong, tugging until it fell down to pool at her feet. She tried to turn around, but he gripped her hips again and pressed her into the counter hard enough to prevent her moving.

“Not yet.” he told her, running his tongue along her neck to her earlobe and his hand went back to her stomach.

Her eyes locked on his hand, his palm warm against the skin of her stomach. He gave a little nudge to her legs to spread them apart and slipped his hand between her thighs, his fingers brushing against her clit. She was already wet and when he briefly inserted the tip of his index finger into her opening, her arousal spiked, letting heat run all over her body.

“You always feel so good.” he breathed into her ear, and she knew that he was just as aroused as she was just by looking into his eyes, even if she ignored his erection that was pressed into her backside.

His gaze told her without a doubt that he wanted her, only her. Her eyes were fixed on the hand between her thighs and the feeling of her own wetness. Watching like this brought a new kind of pleasure as she watched him using his fingers on her. They had done this before, using their camcorder and the TV. She didn't even flinch when she realized that she used the words 'their camcorder' instead of 'his camcorder'.

He slid his finger into her and she breathed out a long and deep moan, to which he reacted by adding another finger and slowly pushed in and out of her. The sensations were great enough to even make her forget why she was mad at him at first. To her dismay, he took his fingers out and took her own hand into his. But to her surprise, he led her hand down between her legs and used his control to push two of her fingers into her together with his own, making the entire thing even more erotic.

“Can you feel that?” he whispered into her ear. “Can you feel your walls contract and how your body responds to my touch? Can you imagine how that makes me feel, to know that you're so hot and wet for me?” he continued and his low voice made her whimper, hear head falling back on his shoulder. He nibbled down her neck as he continued to move their fingers inside her before he lifted his head to take her in.

“Leonard.” she breathed, wanting more but also to find out where he was going with this.

“Can you feel it coming?” he asked her again. “Can you feel how your walls clench against our  
fingers? That's what it feels like to be inside you. There's no feeling like this anywhere else in the world for me.”

Her body started to move against his fingers and hers on its own, going faster and faster and ultimately it was her own thumb that flicked over her clit and making her cry out as her climax hit her. Leonard simply watched her in the mirror, the flush on her skin apparent. After she had calmed down, she slumped back against him while panting heavily.

Penny opened her eyes slowly, lifting them up to meet his in the mirror again. His erection pressed hard against her ass and she wiggles it to let him know that it was his turn now. Leonard put her hand back onto the counter and put his own on her hips, his right sliding down her right thigh and to her knee. He lifted her leg, opening her up to him and rested her foot on the counter as well.

She realized what he had planned and leaned forward over the sink while letting her head fall forward and her eyes close as he unbuttoned his pants and dropped them along with his shorts. But instead of feeling him slide into her, his hand cupped her chin to bring her face back up to face the mirror.

“Open your eyes.” he ordered and smiled at her reflection in the mirror when she followed his instruction. “And keep them open. I want you to watch us.”

She knew where he was going with this but she wasn't sure if she was able to do it. While she had watched herself have sex with him on multiple occasion thanks to a strategic placement of her TV and the camcorder, she never watched herself have sex in front of a mirror with her eyes open. They had tried it in front of mirrors before but the sensation of him moving inside her, hitting her sweet spot over and over again always made it impossible to keep her eyes open.

Her eyes went down to her center, her one leg on the counter making it very visible. Her arousal was evident in the wetness of her folds and her insides quivered in anticipation of his manhood sliding into her. She watched as he took himself in one hand to line it up and then all she could focus on was that first sweet slide into her body. Her moan was mirrored by his own and she fought hard to keep her eyes open and focused.

“That feels so good. You're so hot and wet around me.” he breathed into her ear.

She watched his movements in the mirror, the sight of his cock sliding deep into her, stretching her, before pulling out glistening with her wetness an amazing sight to behold. Her eyes went up and her gaze locked with his as he continued to move at a slow but steady speed. Every time he went inside, he hit every nerve ending making her barely able to function, let alone think.

This was exactly what she loved about him, the fact that he could reduce her entire world to nothing but him, her and their connection. He had managed that a few times and every time she never wanted it to end. That made up everything he did wrong, by design or accident.

“Leonard.” she moaned, allowing all of the lust and arousal she was feeling to show on her face. He leaned forward and ran his tongue along her shoulder and when he started to nibble at her pulse point, she felt the coil tighten as her back arches towards him to get even more friction. That little move changed the angle subtly and she soon cried out with every thrust, his tip running over the little bundle of nerves, making her see stars at the sensation.

Her eyes snapped shut at the feeling before she opened them again. She saw his gaze bore into her soul as he continued to slowly make love to her and while it was a feeling she rarely felt in that slow speed, she wanted more of him.

“Fuck me. Harder. Faster. Please.” she whispered, her voice pleading.

She watched his pupils go even darker with desire and his hands tightened their grip on her hips. He started thrusting faster and stronger, making her jolt forward with its suddenness, despite the fact that she had implored him to do it and her head and upper body dropped forward.

He leaned forward and wrapped his right arm around her body, pulling her back up and against him. Her eyes fell to the place where they were joined and she knew that he was watching her watch his manhood slide in and out of her wet heat, which turned her on even more. She reached up with her left arm and grasped the back of his head when she felt the coils tighten up inside her.

After a few more deep thrusts and hard swipes of his fingers on her clit, she screamed his name in pleasure while she fell over the edge. He slowed down and let her ride it out, his arm still around her chest holding her upwards while she quivered in his embrace, her gaze still fixed on them in the mirror.

“Have you any idea how amazing that felt?” he asked her through the haze of orgasmic bliss. “When your walls became so tight I was barely able to move in and out. No other woman will ever be able to match this.”

She couldn't answer, only breath hard as her body relaxed again with his still hard cock buried deep inside her. She knew that, if he wanted to, he could make her climax again quickly, all he had to do was start moving fast and hard again.

“Do you believe me now that I don't want anyone else?” he asked her sincerely as her eyes locked on his.

“Yes.” she replied without any hesitation.

“And do you know why I want you and only you?”

“Well, I now know why you want my body.” she said, managing a smile when all she wanted was him moving again inside her.

He flashed her a brief smile that she returned before his lips moved over her shoulder, dropping kisses along it. His right hand moved between her legs where they were still joined together and touched the sensible bundle of nerves again without moving his fingers over it.

“But do you know why I want you specifically?” he asked again and she opted to wait for his answer, only shaking her head. “You're gorgeous and beautiful and I admit, that's a real bonus but this is not about who you are on the outside. At least not completely.”

“Really?” she asked shyly, her insecurity returning at this odd time.

“You're compassionate, sympathetic. You blow me away every day and I don't mean in the sexual way but with how strong you are. Your mind amazes me, the way you can make sense of things I overlook or the way you can take down Sheldon with a few choice words. And most importantly, from the day we met you have seen me as me and not as the short, asthmatic and nonathletic nerd who doesn't deserve to have a gorgeous girlfriend and whose presence is constantly overlooked by other guys when they hit on said girlfriend.”

After he had finished his speech, she had a hard time to prevent tears from falling. These were some of the most beautiful words anyone had ever spoken to her and she knew that her fears about him were unfounded despite her head telling her otherwise. She felt a churning in her stomach, imagining him leaving her despite the fact that his hard manhood was still buried inside her heat.

“Leonard...” she started but he interrupted her almost immediately.

“You don't have to say anything. I don't want to pressure you in any way and that was never my intention.” he said and made her smile, as if he knew what she was going through. “You were insecure tonight and all I want you to know is that even if I look at another woman or even if I flirt with another woman when I'm not even realizing that I'm doing it, it won't change anything. Because at the end of the day, all I want to do is come home to you. I want to enter your apartment, take you in my arms and kiss you, hug you, make love to you. Because this, right here, is what I want to have every day, preferably for the rest of my life.”

She knew that she was crying now, his words striking a cord within her that made it impossible to prevent. He pulled out of her, much to her chagrin, and hugged her tighter, his head on her shoulder and his eyes gazing deep into hers in the mirror as she calmed herself down. In this moment, she felt validated in the feelings for him that she had had for over a year now.

“I love you.”

Surprise floated over both their faces at the declaration, eyes wide in some form of shock. Penny knew that she had said the words out loud but she wondered at the same time why they had come out in the deep timbre of his voice. Then she realized that he had said those three magic words at the same time as she had.

Every time she had imagined telling him or him telling her, she always knew that in some way a reciprocation of those words could be seen simply as placating by the other. Being told to be loved had always made her feel that saying it back was only done to not hurt the guys feeling. Yet he had somehow managed to make this the best possible outcome by telling her at exactly the same time.

She finally turned around in his arms and looked deep into his eyes. In them, she saw shock, happiness, relieve and desire. At the same time she knew that her expression mirrored his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, her tongue moving with his and she never wanted to let go but despite the balmy weather outside, she felt a shiver run down her spine when his hands moved along it.

“God, I love you so much.” he breathed after they had separated.

“I love you too. So much more.” she said teary and grabbed one of his hands. “And now Leonard Hofstadter, prove it to me.”

She pulled him back out into the bedroom and he grabbed around her again, his hands going to her ass and squeezing it tightly. She pulled him with her the rest of the way to the bed and when her feet hit it, she let herself fall backwards, taking him with her. Without separating their lips, both pulled and pushed each others up until they were completely on the bed.

He settled himself between her legs and she automatically opened them wide for him. Without having to grab between them, he positioned himself correctly and pushed deep into her, eliciting a moan from both of them at the renewed contact.

He began moving slowly, in the position she had began to call the most emotional satisfying because their entire bodies were touching. His hands grabbed hers and pushed her arms over her head, holding them down on the cushion and continuing his measured thrusts, making her breath in audibly every time he was in the deepest and hitting her g-spot.

This was one of the positions where she was completely in his mercy. He set the pace and although she could easily flip them, she was more than happy to let him. Their lips never separated during their lovemaking and the slow speed made him hold out for as long as he pretty much wanted to, a fact he used to his advantage.

Even in this slow speed, his tip hitting her g-spot made her climax and while not as strong as usual, it was even greater now that the three words were out in the open. With only three words, both had taken all the insecurities away from each other and it showed in his renewed confidence.

His hands left hers and went around her head, holding her face while his thrusts increased in speed and force. She knew from his breathing that he was fighting hard to keep himself from coming although she never understood why he didn't just let go. While it was always great for her when he held out as long as he usually did, she would never begrudge him for climaxing earlier.

To show him that she was fine with him climaxing, she clenched her muscles again, rhythmically to his thrusts, to which he moaned loudly into her mouth. He lifted his head up and looked into her eyes and Penny saw the flush and effort. She only smiled at him and nodded in silent permission and he took the cue, speeding up even more and getting more forceful in his thrusts.

The sudden increase surprised her, the increased force made him hit her g-spot even harder and she felt the coil tighten again in her stomach, which usually announced a hard climax. She stretched her arms and wrapped her hands went around his neck, holding herself tight to him as he towered over her on his arms while her legs wrapped themselves tightly around his waist, adding their strength to his thrusts.

“God Leonard! Right there!” she shouted as he pounded strongly into her, making her tremble.

She breathed heavily and tried to lift herself up to kiss him but was unable to make it with his ministrations making her unable to do any forms of lifting. His own breathing became laborious, telling her of his impending release.

“Come for me, my love.” she managed to whisper before she shattered herself and almost immediately he followed her over the cliff.

He collapsed onto her, holding her tight while she did the same. Again he wasn't in any hurry to pull out of her, something she had absolutely nothing against. Her arms were around his back, rubbing slow circles over his spine as she basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

And this time it really was a lovemaking. They had made love a lot during the past year but this time it had been fueled by the fact that they actually said it out loud that they loved each other. She listened to his breathing and couldn't stop smiling, thinking how those three magic words had come out in the best possible way.

Wordlessly, Leonard got up and pulled her with him into the bathroom where they stood in the shower and let the water clean themselves up. He had to practically force her to use soap since Penny didn't want to do anything but holding his face and kissing his lips.

While they dried themselves off, she stole several kisses from him when their heads were close together, grinning all the way. She loved him. He loved her. Simple as that. In your face Clarice and Alicia and Stephanie.

After brushing their teeth, they went back into the main room. Leonard laid down on his back and beckoned Penny to him, which made her almost jump into the bed and into his side. She put her head on his chest and listened to the soothing beats of his heart while he kept stroking her naked body. Her eyes were lined up with his stomach and watched his currently soft manhood, already thinking about the next time it would be inside her.

And the next time, she wanted something else than usual. 

* * *

 

“Leonard, can I ask you something?” Penny asked an hour later, her head still on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“Sure, what's on your mind?” he replied, his nose nuzzling her hair while he placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head.

“I know it might sound strange but I'm really curious.... uh... when did you first know or rather realize that you love me?”

“Huh. I would tell you but I know that it will sound sappy.”

“If I tell you mine, will you tell me yours?”

“Okay... Penny, when did you realize that you're in love with me?” he smiled.

“Remember when my friend Christie was hooking up with Howard in my apartment?”

“Yes.”

“Well, after you had my care bears cleaned and I had found your note. That was the first time I said it out loud, even if it only was to an empty room. But truth be told, I was more freaked out and scared then happy.”

“Why?”

“Because it hadn't been that long since I came out of my horrible former relationship. And then there you were, being so nice to me and so good in bed, giving me such a great time anytime we were together. And I was scared to put my heart out there again. But at that point the cat was out of the bag and I knew that I loved you.”

“Okay, that's understandable.” he admitted.

“So, what about you? When was your moment of revelation that you think is so embarrassing?” she grinned and playfully squeezed his hip where her right hand rested. “Come on, tell me, when did you first realize that you love me?”

“When you lifted your shot of vodka and said “I'm Penny, by the way”.”

“But that was... when we met in that bar.” she whispered and felt tears pool in her eyes.

“Yep... Penny, are you crying?”

“Don't worry, those are happy tears.” she said and lifted her body to bring her mouth on his.

She kissed him with all the emotion she felt and in her mind it was the most beautiful kiss she ever had with anyone. It conveyed all the love she felt for that short, bespectacled physicist who had stolen her heart a year and a half ago.

When she settled herself on top of him, she felt him grow again. Their tongues still dancing, she ground herself on him, enjoying the rapid hardening of his manhood and glad that she had that effect on him. But instead of simply sinking down on him, she climbed off and grabbed a box out of the bottom of her bag and placed it on the night table.

“Why did you bring condoms?” Leonard asked and sat up.

“You'll see soon. But first, take me from behind.” she said and got on her knees, bending her upper body down.

With her ass directly in front of him, anything Leonard might have said was pulled from his mind at the sight greeting him. Hos body moved almost automatically, getting behind her and lining himself up before pushing into her to the hilt, a groan escaping both their throats at the renewed contact.

Without waiting, Leonard started to pound her again, their skin slamming against each other rapidly, almost louder than her moans. The angle of her bent down body gave her the maximum pleasure again, his tip hitting her g-spot in fast regularity and making her coil tighten almost immediately. She started panting hard as she felt the orgasm coming on and when Leonard moved his hand between her legs to rub her clit, she shattered in climax with quivering legs and loud and long moan.

“Stop!” she ordered, before she could lose herself in more pounding.

“What, did I hurt you?” he asked concerned.

“No, but I want to do what we need the condoms for.” she said and grabbed the box, opening it and taking one out.

“I don't understand.” he said and read the box. “Pre-lubricated condoms. What do we need those for?”

“Because... uh... I want to... you know... try anal.” she stammered.

“Um, are you sure?” he asked. “Remember the last time we did that?”

“Leonard, the last time was one single, very drunken, accidental and way too fast thrust. This time, I want to do it properly, with those condoms and slowly. And if anyone of us doesn't like it, we'll stop immediately.”

“Um... okay, lets do it.”

“Really? I thought I needed to convince you some more.” she said, eyeing him suspiciously.

“To tell you the truth, I have thought about it too since you mentioned it first.”

“You have?” she asked. “Well then, slide it on, line yourself up and push slowly.”

Leonard did as he was told and unrolled the condom on his manhood, making sure only to touch it and the base so he wouldn't get his hands sticky with the lubricant that was already on there. Penny got back into her position from before with her ass high and her head on the pillow. Leonard got on his knees and went behind her, lining his manhood up with her anus and placing the tip against it.

“Are you really sure?” he asked, making her heart melt with his consideration. Other man she knew wouldn't have hesitated a second.

“Yes, I am. Go in but slowly.” she said and felt him starting to push.

Her eyes fluttered at the strange feeling of his tip stretching her there but she didn't move and let him do it alone. He went very slowly, as she asked him to, and millimeter by millimeter, he got deeper. When the tip was inside, he paused, letting her get used to it, hoping she wasn't hurting.

“Wow, that feels strange.” she panted.

“Strangely bad or strangely good?”

“So far not bad. Keep going.”

He did as she told him and started pushing again until he was about a quarter inside. When he tried to go deeper, she let out a startled yelp into the cushion, which made him stop immediately.

“Are you in pain?” he asked concerned.

“No, it's just a very strange feeling.” she replied and started to enjoy it despite the strangeness. “Keep going please.”

“No.” came from him.

“What? Come on, I said it's okay.”

“No, I mean, I won't push. You push.”

“Huh? How would I do that?” she asked.

“I stay still and you push against me. Then you can control speed and depth.”

“I love you.” she smiled at his consideration and did has he suggested.

While he kept his body as still as possible, she pushed backwards, taking him slowly in inch by inch until he was about halfway buried inside her anus. To get used to him in there, she started moving forward and backward, basically have him thrust into her using her own movement.

“God, do you have to have such a thick cock?” she panted at the feeling of him. “Don't answer that, that was rhetorical. And don't you dare apologize.”

She got him halfway in again and continued to push against him to get him deeper into her. Her eyes rolled back into her skull at the feeling of being stretched beyond her limits but suddenly, she felt the flesh of his hips hitting her ass. With a start she realized that she had taken him in completely and she still didn't feel any pain.

“Holy crap, that feels... amazing.” she exclaimed once she gotten used to him. “You can start thrusting now, slowly.”

He grabbed her hips and started moving, slowly like she asked, the bulk of his attention on her voice in case she started to voice any pain or command to stop. But all he heard was moaning in pleasure and he had to admit that it was an amazing feeling. Penny was tight every time they made love but this time it was off the chart.

He could barely move inside her, the feeling of his manhood getting squeezed as it moved making him climax almost immediately. Without her consent, he sped up a tiny fraction, his own pleasure coming out in satisfied groans.

“You like that?” she asked between thrusts.

“It may sound mean, but god yes, we should have done that long before.” he replied.

“I agree. That feels so strangely amazing, it's unbelievable. Speed up a bit, will you?”

He did and thrust faster, still slow compared to their usual lovemaking in that position. Every time he went inside, Penny moaned loudly and he leaned to the left to look at her face. He saw her smiling and knew then that she really wasn't feeling any pain.

“Faster.” she commanded and he sped up even more. She replied this command another five times until he was thrusting as fast as he usual did in doggy-style, their skin slapping against each other. Penny kept shouting a lot of expletives and words of agreement into her pillow, mindful of the fact that the neighboring room was occupied. Luckily the bed was against the wall to their bathroom so anytime the frame hit it, they didn't disturb anyone.

“Shit, I'm coming!” Penny yelled when her orgasm suddenly hit her. Leonard held her tight and kept thrusting, prolonging her climax until he went over the cliff a few seconds later, groaning into her ear. When he collapsed onto her bed and took her with him, pressing both of them flat down, she felt a momentary pain due to the changing angle but the remaining pleasure won over. He pulled out quickly, discarding the condom into a plastic bag before throwing it into the trash.

“That was... wow!” she exclaimed after collecting her thoughts.

“I agree.” he said, settling down next to her.

“Cheryl always said she liked it but I was never really sure. But after this...wow. We have to do it again.”

“Um, Penny, I'm kind of exhausted and still reloading.”

“I don't mean now, I mean back home. But then without the condom.” she said, wiggling her ass when she felt his hand on it.

“You sure?” he asked.

“Yes. I don't always want to stop to roll on a condom. So yeah, maybe we try a few more times with them until the box is empty but we have to do it without to see how it feels.”

“If you say so. But if you are hurting, we will stop immediately.”

“Of course. But, god you are thick.” she grinned. “And all mine. I love you Leonard.”

“I love you too.” he replied, enjoying how good that sounded. “We should get some sleep.”

“But I don't wanna sleep.” she whined. “I want to make love some more. I have waited months for the right moment to tell you that I love you and I want to savor it.”

“Penny, we have all the time of your lives to savor it.” he grinned.

“What?” she asked, sitting straight up.

“Um...” he stammered, wondering if he had scared her away now. “I meant...”

“I think I know what you meant. Do you mean that? Do you see us together in ten or twenty years?”

“Well, yeah. If I have my say, we'll never break up.”

“I love you.” she said in tears. “I never want to break up with you either. And when you ask me to make it official, I will say yes. Just not in the near future.”

“Uh, did we just get engaged to be engaged?”

“Is that a real thing?” Penny asked.

“Yeah, it's a promise to say yes when the other pops the question.”

“Then, yes, we did.” she said and kissed him.

“I love you Penny.”

“And I love you.”

They finally fell into an exhausted sleep, the events of the day and night catching up with them. Despite her desire to make love all night long, it was already daylight when she opened her eyes. She could hear Leonard moving around in the bathroom and when he returned into the room, he was already fully dressed and was busy packing his clothes into his bag.

“Good morning.” she said sleepily.

“Good morning, my love.” he replied and bent down to kiss her.

“What are you doing?”

“Packing. We have to be out here in an hour, it's eleven am already.”

“What? Why didn't you wake me?”

“You looked so cute when you were drooling on your pillow.” he grinned.

“Leonard, that's gross.” she said and sat up. “Wow.”

“What?”

“Nothing. It just feels like I lost my virginity last night. Which I kinda did.”

“Oh no, is it painful?”

“No! No no, more like a momentary stiffness. It'll pass soon, don't worry.” she said and got up.

She went into the bedroom and, after doing her ablutions, looked at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't help but grin at the events of last night, their declarations of love combined with amazing sex making her unable to stop smiling.

She took a quick shower and went back into the main room, still naked, to look for her underwear, finding a fresh pair at the bottom of her bag and putting it on. She chose loose pants and a shirt this time, knowing that they would ride back on the Harley Davidson again. She then packed her own clothes by simply stuffing them into the bags, except the dress which she folded properly.

After finishing, they went down to the restaurant and Leonard ordered some sandwiches to go, both rather not eating a full early lunch. After packing them into her purse, Leonard went to the receptionist, who turned out to be the owner this time, and paid their bill, the fact that they only had to pay for Friday making said bill pretty tolerable.

Just as they were done, the familiar figure of Frank came down the stairs, Alice completely hidden by his frame. They also paid and the group went outside towards his SUV. Frank stowed the bags in the back and turned back to the others.

“So, how do we handle the return?” Frank asked.

“Penny and I might take a longer route, as long as we have that bike rented, so here's an idea. You don't have to wait for us at the bike shop. When we're home, we'll take a cab to our place and I'll pick up our bags with my car.” Leonard said.

“Fine by me.” Frank agreed.

“In case we don't see each other again, it was a blast.” Alice said and hugged both Leonard and Penny. “Except for the vomiting part, of course.”

“Yeah, that was a bitch.” Penny said and hugged her back before hugging Frank, getting completely enveloped in his huge frame. Leonard opted to shake Frank's hand before the other couple got into their car and drove off.

As Leonard and Penny walked towards the Harley, Penny put her purse under her shirt and moved it to her back where it wouldn't disturb her. Leonard got the helmets out of their case under the seats and they donned them, checking their headsets again before getting on it and driving off, the vibrations again shooting very pleasurable feelings into her core.

“Leonard?” she said into the microphone.

“Yeah?” came the reply.

“When we come across that clearing again, stop there.”

“Sure. Why?”

“I have one of those condoms in my purse.” she breathed.

“You don't say?” he said and she could hear the grin through the headset.

“Yeah. And I intend to use it.”

Penny put her head on his back and closed her eyes again, enjoying the feeling of the bike below her and the man she loved in front of her. After this weekend, she knew that they could survive anything that fate threw at them. A year and a half ago, the notion of love fulfilled her with dread after her relationship with Kurt but now that she found true love, nothing could set her more at ease than knowing her feelings being reciprocated the way they were.

And soon, they would be back with her parents. She couldn't wait to tell them the good news, even if her mother would mercilessly rib her. But she simply didn't care. 

* * *

 

**And stopping point. I couldn't help but throw a few wrenches into the engine ^^ As if I would go to the cliche route and have them declare their love in a restaurant before dessert :D**

**But I hope you still liked it. ;)**

**Review please :)**


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